The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - degrade v.

1) downgrade, demote, break, Military cashier, Ecclesiastical unfrock, Law disbar; depose, unseat; disfranchise or disenfranchise; Military drum out (of the corps) , Chiefly naval disrate; US military bust: They degraded him from captain to lieutenant. 2) disgrace, dishonour, humble, shame, discredit, debase, demean, abase; humiliate, mortify, belittle, deprecate, depreciate, cheapen, reduce, lower: He has been degraded to mopping the floor. 3) dilute, adulterate, weaken, thin, water (down) , alloy: Cologne is, essentially, degraded perfume.