To disgrace or dishonour (7) Crossword Clue
Answer: DEGRADE (7 letters)
The answer to the crossword clue "To disgrace or dishonour" with 7 letters is "DEGRADE".Degrade means to lower in dignity, honor, or quality, often by showing disrespect or treating someone or something as inferior. It refers to actions that tarnish someone's reputation, status, or self-esteem, usually through humiliation or unfair treatment.
Why “Degrade” Fits
The clue asks for a single word (7 letters) meaning “to disgrace or dishonour.” The answer, DEGRADE, fits exactly:
- To disgrace or dishonour: Degrade means to reduce someone’s dignity, rank, or moral standing — effectively causing shame or loss of respect.
- Direct match: With 7 letters, degrade matches the clue’s enumeration perfectly.
- Precise meaning: It conveys both personal and professional humiliation, aligning seamlessly with the clue’s tone and wording.
The verb degrade is deeply rooted in moral and hierarchical contexts:
- Origin and usage: From Latin degradare, meaning “to step down from a rank,” combining de- (“down”) and gradus (“step”).
- Contexts: Commonly used for ethical, social, or environmental decline — such as degrading a person’s status or degrading nature.
- Examples: “He was publicly degraded for his misconduct,” or “Pollution continues to degrade the environment.”
Quick crossword clues like “to disgrace or dishonour (7)” tend to point toward verbs denoting moral or reputational decline:
- Alternatives such as demean (6) or disgrace (8) could appear relevant, but only degrade matches both the nuance and the 7-letter count.
- The clue’s use of dual terms (“disgrace or dishonour”) strengthens the sense of humiliation — a perfect fit for degrade.
- With exact length, precision of meaning, and strong verb form, degrade is the correct crossword solution.
