degenerate

American  

[dih-jen-uh-reyt, dih-jen-er-it] / dɪˈdʒɛn əˌreɪt, dɪˈdʒɛn ər ɪt /

verb (used without object)

degenerated, degenerating

1. to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate.

   The morale of the soldiers degenerated, and they were unable to fight.

   Synonyms:

   retrogress, backslide, decline, worsen

2. to diminish in quality, especially from a former state of coherence, balance, integrity, etc..

   The debate degenerated into an exchange of insults.

3. Pathology. to lose functional activity, as a tissue or organ.

4. Evolution. (of a species or any of its traits or structures) to revert to a simple, less highly organized, or less functionally active type, as a parasitic plant that has lost its taproot or the vestigial wings of a flightless bird.

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verb (used with object)

degenerated, degenerating

1. to cause degeneration in; bring about a decline, deterioration, or reversion in.

adjective

1. having fallen below a normal or desirable level, especially in physical or moral qualities; deteriorated; degraded.

   a degenerate king.

2. having lost, or become impaired with respect to, the qualities proper to the species or kind.

   a degenerate vine.

3. characterized by or associated with degeneracy.

   degenerate times.

4. Mathematics. pertaining to a limiting case of a mathematical system that is more symmetrical or simpler in form than the general case.

5. Physics.

   1. (of modes of vibration of a system) having the same frequency.

   2. (of quantum states of a system) having equal energy.

noun

1. a person who has declined, as in morals or character, from a type or standard considered normal.

2. a person or thing that reverts to an earlier stage of culture, development, or evolution.

3. a sexual deviate.

degenerate British  

verb

1. to become degenerate

2. biology (of organisms or their parts) to become less specialized or functionally useless

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adjective

1. having declined or deteriorated to a lower mental, moral, or physical level; debased; degraded; corrupt

2. physics

   1. (of the constituents of a system) having the same energy but different wave functions

   2. (of a semiconductor) containing a similar number of electrons in the conduction band to the number of electrons in the conduction band of metals

   3. (of a resonant device) having two or more modes of equal frequency

3. (of a code) containing symbols that represent more than one letter, figure, etc

4. (of a plant or animal) having undergone degeneration

noun

1. a degenerate person

Other Word Forms

• degenerately adverb
• degenerateness noun
• nondegenerate adjective
• nondegenerately adverb
• nondegenerateness noun
• predegenerate adjective
• undegenerate adjective
• undegenerated adjective
• undegenerating adjective

Etymology

Origin of degenerate

First recorded in 1485–95; from Latin dēgenerātus “declined,” past participle of dēgenerāre “to decline from an ancestral standard, deteriorate”; equivalent to de- + generate

Explanation

If something degenerates, it gets worse, like a food fight that degenerates to an all-out spaghetti-throwing war. Degenerate can also describe an immoral person — or the behavior of such a person. Whether used as a verb, noun, or adjective, degenerate carries a sense of making worse or declining to a lower state. People who are degenerate, or who exhibit degenerate behavior, are often set apart from others, in part out of fear that their influence will degenerate the morals of the impressionable people around them.

Example Sentences

I’m kind of glad that I’m not so much of a degenerate anymore.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 25, 2026

You need to be a true degenerate for Las Vegas to break your heart.

From Slate • Nov. 18, 2025

“If somebody launched a 5x Nvidia product tomorrow, it would probably get half a million dollars overnight. The appetite for degenerate leverage is pretty strong right now,” Nadig told MarketWatch.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 23, 2025

His screen persona has often been the sleaziest of weasels, the connoisseur’s moral degenerate.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

My dad’s always treated me like I was just another thing sucking his hard-earned money out of his pocket; now, I’m also the degenerate who cost him an interview.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Related Words

• descend
• disintegrate
• lapse
• lessen
• regress
• revert
• worsen