Degradation

Degradation (from Latin: degradatio, literally — reduction), regression — the process of deteriorations of characteristics of an object with time; moving back; gradual decline; decline in quality; breakdown of matter due to the impact of external forces in conformity with the laws of nature and time. Degradation is often referred to as the opposite of Progress. Degradation may refer to:

• Biodegradation, the processes by which organic substances are broken down by living organisms
• Cashiering or degradation ceremony, a ritual performed when cleric is deprived of office or a knight is stripped of the honour
• Chemical decomposition, the degradation of chemical compounds
• Corruption (philosophical concept)
• Defamation
• "Degradation" a song by the Violent Femmes, from Add It Up (1981–1993)
• Degradation (telecommunications), the loss of quality of an electronic signal
• Elegant degradation, in engineering, the gradual failing of a machine
• Environmental degradation, in ecology, damage to the ecosystem and loss of biodiversity
• Graceful degradation, in a fault-tolerant system
• Degradation (geology)