degenerate

[ verb dih-jen-uh-reyt; adjective, noun dih-jen-er-it ]

/ verb dɪˈdʒɛn əˌreɪt; adjective, noun dɪˈdʒɛn ər ɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR degenerate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), de·gen·er·at·ed, de·gen·er·at·ing.

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.

to diminish in quality, especially from a former state of coherence, balance, integrity, etc.: The debate degenerated into an exchange of insults.

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

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.

verb (used with object), de·gen·er·at·ed, de·gen·er·at·ing.

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

adjective

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

having lost, or become impaired with respect to, the qualities proper to the species or kind: a degenerate vine.

characterized by or associated with degeneracy: degenerate times.

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

Physics.

(of modes of vibration of a system) having the same frequency.
(of quantum states of a system) having equal energy.

noun

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

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

a sexual deviate.

Nearby words

degausser, degearing, degenderize, degeneracy, degeneracy pressure, degenerate, degenerate matter, degenerate state, degeneration, degenerative, degenerative joint disease

Origin of degenerate

1485–95; < Latin dēgenerātus (past participle of dēgenerāre to decline from an ancestral standard), equivalent to dē de- + gener-, stem of genus race (see genus) + -ātus -ate¹; see generate

SYNONYMS FOR degenerate

1 worsen, decline, backslide, retrogress.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR degenerate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

de·gen·er·ate·ly, adverbde·gen·er·ate·ness, nounnon·de·gen·er·ate, adjective, nounnon·de·gen·er·ate·ly, adverb

non·de·gen·er·ate·ness, nounpre·de·gen·er·ate, adjectiveun·de·gen·er·ate, adjectiveun·de·gen·er·at·ed, adjectiveun·de·gen·er·at·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for degenerate

Then, with a grin, “And we all know how degenerate those people are.”
‘Mozart in the Jungle’: Inside Amazon’s Brave New World of Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music|Kevin Fallon|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Being a fan of Liquid Sky carries the cachet of degenerate hipness to this day, 32 years after it was filmed.
Punks, UFOs, and Heroin: How ‘Liquid Sky’ Became a Cult Movie|Daniel Genis|June 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He is a progenitor of what could be called the degenerate school of American fiction.
American Dreams: ‘Tobacco Road’ by Erskine Caldwell|Nathaniel Rich|April 30, 2012|DAILY BEAST
If the states want to emulate casinos, degenerate, compulsive play is where the money is.
Online Casinos Run by New York, Other States Will Target Gambling Addicts|Josh Axelrad|January 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The Guardian warns, in a page-wide headline, that it could degenerate into a fiasco of Suez 1956 proportions.
The Great Fallacy of Obama's War|M.J. Akbar|November 13, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Austria was now the preponderating power in degenerate Italy.
The Empire of Austria; Its Rise and Present Power|John S. C. Abbott
They talked, and I was punished as a degenerate little villain.
Claire|Leslie Burton Blades
He knows and we know that these mongrel herds, as he calls the outside enemy, are not so degenerate.
City of Endless Night|Milo Hastings
It is liable to degenerate; and, though sometimes classed as a Winter Endive, is less hardy than many other sorts.
The Field and Garden Vegetables of America|Fearing Burr
Women are the purer and the more ornamental part of life, and when they degenerate, the Poetry of Life is gone.
Conversation|Andrew P. Peabody

British Dictionary definitions for degenerate

degenerate

verb (dɪˈdʒɛnəˌreɪt) (intr)

to become degenerate

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

adjective (dɪˈdʒɛnərɪt)

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

physics

(of the constituents of a system) having the same energy but different wave functions
(of a semiconductor) containing a similar number of electrons in the conduction band to the number of electrons in the conduction band of metals
(of a resonant device) having two or more modes of equal frequency

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

(of a plant or animal) having undergone degeneration

noun (dɪˈdʒɛnərɪt)

a degenerate person

Derived Forms

degenerately, adverbdegenerateness, noun

Word Origin for degenerate

C15: from Latin dēgenerāre, from dēgener departing from its kind, ignoble, from de- + genus origin, race

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

Medicine definitions for degenerate

degenerate

[ dĭ-jĕn′ər-ĭt ]

adj.

Characterized by degeneration, as of tissue, a cell, or an organ.

Having lost one or more highly developed functions, characteristics, or structures through evolution.

v.

To undergo the process of degeneration.

degenerate

verb (used without object), de·gen·er·at·ed, de·gen·er·at·ing.

verb (used with object), de·gen·er·at·ed, de·gen·er·at·ing.

adjective

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of degenerate

SYNONYMS FOR degenerate

Related forms

Examples from the Web for degenerate

British Dictionary definitions for degenerate

degenerate

verb (dɪˈdʒɛnəˌreɪt) (intr)

adjective (dɪˈdʒɛnərɪt)

noun (dɪˈdʒɛnərɪt)

Derived Forms

Word Origin for degenerate

Medicine definitions for degenerate

degenerate

adj.

v.