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To fix the bounds of; to bring to a termination; to end. "To define controversies." Barrow.

n the value of; to lower the physical, moral, or intellectual character of; to debase; to bring shame or contempt upon; to disgrace; as, vice degrades a man. O miserable mankind, to what fall Degraded, to what wretched state reserved! Milton. He pride . . . struggled hard against this degrading passion. Macaulay.…

Bearing or bringing forth a god; -- said of the Virgin Mary. [Obs.] Bailey.

What besides, Of sorrow, and dejection, and despair, Our frailty can sustain, thy tidings bring. Milton.

To carry or bring against, as a charge; to inform against; to accuse; to denounce. As men were delated, they were marked down for such a fine. Bp. Burnet.

To free from, or disburden of, young; to relieve of a child in childbirth; to bring forth; -- often with of. She was delivered safe and soon. Gower. Tully was long ere he could be delivered of a few verses, and those poor ones. Peacham.

Act of bringing forth children. [Archaic] Shak.

The act of bringing before the mind; presentation. The influence of princes upon the dispositions of their courts needs not the deposition of their examples, since it hath the authority of a known principle. W. Montagu.

To bring down or humble; to abase, as pride.

To ruin; to bring to naught; to put an end to; to annihilate; to consume. I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation. Jer. xii. 17.

The act of destroying; a tearing down; a bringing to naught; subversion; demolition; ruin; slaying; devastation. The Jews smote all their enemies with the stroke of the sword, and slaughter, and destruction. Esth. ix. 5. 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. Shak. Destruction…

Causing destruction; tending to bring about ruin, death, or devastation; ruinous; fatal; productive of serious evil; mischievous; pernicious; -- often with of or to; as, intemperance is destructive of health; evil examples are destructive to the morals of youth. Time's destructive power. Wordsworth. Destructive distill…

To uncover; to discover; to find out; to bring to light; as, to detect a crime or a criminal; to detect a mistake in an account. Plain good intention . . . is as easily discovered at the first view, as fraud is surely detected at last. Burke. Like following life through creatures you dissect, You lose it in the moment…

One who, or that which, detects or brings to light; one who finds out what another attempts to conceal; a detector.

To bring to an end; to determine. See Determine. [Obs.] The sly, slow hours shall not determinate The dateless limit of thy dear exile. Shak.

Bringing to an end; termination; limit. A speedy determination of that war. Ludlow.

To set bounds to; to fix the determination of; to limit; to bound; to bring to an end; to finish. The knowledge of men hitherto hath been determined by the view or sight. Bacon. Now, where is he that will not stay so long Till his friend sickness hath determined me Shak.

To unfold gradually, as a flower from a bud; hence, to bring through a succession of states or stages, each of which is preparatory to the next; to form or expand by a process of growth; to cause to change gradually from an embryo, or a lower state, to a higher state or form of being; as, sunshine and rain develop the…

To bring into a condition of decay or partial ruin, by misuse or through neglect; to destroy the fairness and good condition of; -- said of a building. If the bishop, parson, or vicar, etc., dilapidates the buildings, or cuts down the timber of the patrimony. Blackstone.

To bring harm upon; to injure. [R.] Thomson.