Degradation

1. The act of reducing in rank, character, or reputation, or of abasing; a lowering from one's standing or rank in office or society; diminution; as, the degradation of a peer, a knight, a general, or a bishop.
2. The state of being reduced in rank, character, or reputation; baseness; moral, physical, or intellectual degeneracy; disgrace; abasement; debasement.
3. Diminution or reduction of strength, efficacy, or value; degeneration; deterioration.
4. (Geol.) A gradual wearing down or wasting, as of rocks and banks, by the action of water, frost etc.
5. (Biol.) The state or condition of a species or group which exhibits degraded forms; degeneration.
6. (Physiol.) Arrest of development, or degeneration of any organ, or of the body as a whole.
Degradation of energy, or Dissipation of energy (Physics),
the transformation of energy into some form in which it is less available for doing work.