Verb

(degrad)

To lower in value or social position.

Fred degrades himself by his behaviour.

* Palfrey

Prynne was sentenced by the Star Chamber Court to be degraded from the bar.

To reduce in quality or purity.

The DNA sample has degraded .

(geology) To reduce in altitude or magnitude, as hills and mountains; to wear down.

Verb

(en verb)

To take away; to withdraw or remove.

*{{quote-news

, year=2012 , date=May 27 , author=Nathan Rabin , title=TV: Review: THE SIMPSONS (CLASSIC): “New Kid On The Block” (season 4, episode 8; originally aired 11/12/1992) , work=The Onion AV Club citation , page= , passage=The Conan O’Brien-penned half-hour has the capacity to rip our collective hearts out the way the cute, funny bad girl next door does to Bart when she reveals that her new boyfriend is Jimbo Jones, but the show keeps shying away from genuine emotion in favor of jokes that, while overwhelmingly funny, detract from the poignancy and the emotional intimacy of the episode.}}

To take credit or reputation from; to defame or decry.

* Drayton

That calumnious critic / Detracting what laboriously we do.