Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A descending slope, as in a road.
- n. A turn or trend downward.
- n. A decline, as in fortune, status, or condition: a neighborhood on the downgrade.
- v. To lower the status or salary of.
- v. To minimize the importance, value, or reputation of. See Synonyms at decry, demote.
Wiktionary
- n. A reduction of a rating, as a financial or credit rating.
- v. To place lower in position.
- v. To 'dumb down', reduce in complexity, or remove unnecessary parts.
- v. meteorology to reduce the official estimate of a storm's intensity.
- v. computing To revert software back to an older version.
WordNet 3.0
- v. rate lower; lower in value or esteem
- n. the property possessed by a slope or surface that descends
Etymologies
- From down- + grade. (Wiktionary)
Examples
“So the wealthy may have to downgrade from the Mercedes to the Lexus.”
House Dems to levy new tax on wealthy to pay for health care
“Fitch Ratings downgraded Ireland's long-term foreign - and local-currency issuer default ratings to A+ from AA -, while keeping a negative outlook, which means a further downgrade is possible.”
“According to Alec Phillips, a Goldman Sachs political economist based in Washington, the increased momentum toward a deal "reduces the risk of the near-term downgrade of the U.S. sovereign rating.”
The Wall Street Journal: Making the Call on U.S. Credit Rating
“I should have guessed there was going to be a problem when I called to downgrade and said I wanted to downgrade from the Triple Play and the customer service rep said Okay we can do that for you.”
“He called the downgrade an "irresponsible move" that may "have spillover effects" such as higher borrowing costs for home buyers, credit-card holders, car buyers, and state and local governments.”
The Wall Street Journal: Republicans Push Back on Higher Taxes
“In a statement, an S&P spokesman said the firm had signaled in August that the tobacco bonds could face a near-term downgrade.”
“Fitch Ratings said Wednesday Portugal needs financial support and a "timely and credible" economic program from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund to avoid a likely near-term downgrade to its credit rating.”
“Is the Remington x-mark pro triggers a downgrade from the old remington triggers?”
“The numbers will almost certainly reflect a downgrade from the steady growth scenario the officials envisioned in forecasts released in July.”
The Washington Post: Five questions for the Fed on the eve of QE2
“I just read Feldstein's address to the AEA conference, Jan-7-9, and must personally again downgrade Private Accounts.”
Social Security Debate Online, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘downgrade’.
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WF - nominal compounds (figurative)
An extensive list I have been working on for quite some time. Feel free to add more of the kind if you miss any.
brainstorming, upside, downside, goldplating, bikeshedding, mudslinging, downgrading, headhunter, streamlining, mainstreaming, gerrymandering, frontloading and 503 more...
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Make the grade
Words ending with -grade; those describing methods of locomotion in animals are grouped together, starting with "ciliograde".
aggrade, altigrade, antegrade, anterograde, belgrade, bigrade, biodegrade, centigrade, decigrade, degrade, disgrade, downgrade and 48 more...
Tweets
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