1. A reduction in rank, degree, or dignity; specif., censure of a clergy member by divestiture of holy orders, either by word or by a solemn divestiture of robes and other insignia. Cf. DEPOSITION(4); DEPRIVATION(4).
2. A moral or intellectual decadence or degeneration; a lessening of a person’s or thing’s character or quality (degradation of resources).
3. A wearing down of something, as by erosion.