aggrandize vs degrade

aggrandize

verb
  • To make appear great or greater; to exalt. 

  • To make great or greater in power, rank, honor, or wealth (applied to persons, countries, etc.). 

  • To make great; to enlarge; to increase. 

  • To increase or become great. 

degrade

verb
  • To reduce in quality or purity. 

  • To reduce in altitude or magnitude, as hills and mountains; to wear down. 

  • To lower in value or social position. 

How often have the words aggrandize and degrade occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )