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degenerative

American  
[dih-jen-er-uh-tiv, -uh-rey-tiv] / dɪˈdʒɛn ər ə tɪv, -əˌreɪ tɪv /

adjective

  1. tending to degenerate.

  2. characterized by degeneration.

degenerative British  
/ dɪˈdʒɛnəˌreɪtɪv /

adjective

  1. (of a disease or condition) getting steadily worse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of degenerative

First recorded in 1840–50; degenerate + -ive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Degenerative arthritis is no longer exclusive to the elderly population.

From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2024

Degenerative diseases are “akin to an act of betrayal against the beauty of one’s accumulated life experiences,” Lee writes in her artist’s statement.

From Scientific American • Aug. 12, 2021

Degenerative and incurable, it is democratic in its reach.

From New York Times • Apr. 30, 2016

Almost immediately the inhabitants display symptoms of the "Degenerative Disease," a bellicose assertion of ego against the grain of the common good.

From Time Magazine Archive

Degenerative changes which take place in tendons following constitutional diseases such as influenza may also be classed as a predisposing cause.

From Lameness of the Horse Veterinary Practitioners' Series, No. 1 by Lacroix, John Victor

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.