List of 426 Sets of Synonyms - How they Differ - Total of 2307 Words - 108

SYNONYMS: degrade, abase, debase, demean, humble, humiliate.
These verbs mean to deprive of self-esteem or self-worth.

Degrade implies reduction to a state of shame or disgrace: Charity degrades those who receive it and hardens those who dispense it.
Abase refers principally to loss of rank or prestige: They angerly and stubbornly refused to abase themselves by asking their long-time good friends for an invitation.
Debase implies reduction in quality or value: This debased the moral courage of the nation.
Demean suggests lowering in social position: He can make the advances without demeaning himself.
Humble can refer to lowering in rank or, more often, to driving out undue pride: He humbled his opponent.
To humiliate is to subject to loss of self-respect or dignity: a defeat that humiliated both army and nation.