Degradation, according to the same source, is the reduction
of rank, character or reputation of a person. An example of degradation is:
"If you were any fatter, we would have to get rid of your worthless
ass."
See the difference?
In play though, there are various ways of humiliating a
submissive. First you can have the submissive beg for the privilege of being
humiliated. Make them aware that you are doing them a favor by doing it for
them. You can use the dirty, sexy, kinky words we all generally do not use like
the word "whore". Then you can have them do humiliating things like
drinking water from a bowl with no hands or parading them on a leash in front
of other people. It all depends on the submissive. Even having them display
themselves in a way that they would never even consider could be extremely
humiliating. Puppy play and infantilism has some definite elements of
humiliation as well. Both of these role play situations clearly show the need
to balance care and love with the humiliation. Some submissives need far less
to become mortified or ashamed. As it is a lot of submissives are ashamed of
being submissive in the first place and having them ask for what shames them,
is a great way of putting a submissive right back into his or her place.