degrade

/dɪˈɡreɪd/
Syllables de·grade
Stress de-GRADE

Phonics Breakdown

de
/dɪ/
short i
grade
/ɡreɪd/
long a_e

Meaning

to make something worse in quality or status

Sound Reference

💡

di=/dɪ/ (dish) + grade=/ɡreɪd/ (grade)

Example

Pollution can degrade the quality of water.