Degradation
Degradation noun - A change to a lower state or level.
Usage example: English teachers bemoaning the degradation of the language that e-mail and instant messaging have allegedly brought about
Evolution is an antonym for degradation.
Evolution
Evolution noun - The act or process of going from the simple or basic to the complex or advanced.
Usage example: the evolution of motion pictures from a peep-show novelty into a medium of mass entertainment and an art form
Degradation is an antonym for evolution.
How words are described
| human | human degradation | human evolution |
| physical | physical degradation | physical evolution |
| similar | similar degradation | similar evolution |
| real | real degradation | real evolution |
| Other adjectives: constant, slow, gradual, noticeable, moral, significant, accelerated, rapid, recent, genetic. | ||
Both words in one sentence
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The more pedantic ones may rely on obscure usages or represent a vain attempt by linguistic purists to turn back the clock on the evolution of language (sometimes to a supposed past state that never actually existed), often accompanied by the belief that linguistic evolution is always "degradation."
Source: You Keep Using That Word -
An evolution / degradation to the Baron genus?
Source: A Load of Bull
Cite this Source
Evolution and Degradation. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/degradation/evolution
Degradation & Evolution. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/degradation/evolution>.
Evolution or Degradation. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/degradation/evolution.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "degradation" and "evolution" have occurred on timeline