degenerate

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

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

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.

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 degenerated

What was initially intended to be a celebration of music has degenerated into a weird marriage of fashion and commerce.
Coachella, Oasis For Douchebags and Trust Fund Babies, Should Be Avoided At All Costs|Marlow Stern|April 12, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In other hands, this scenario might have degenerated into a caricature-filled freak show.
Richard Porton on Steven Soderbergh’s ‘Behind the Candelabra’|Richard Porton|May 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Within the committee, partisan bickering has degenerated to personal distrust.
'Do-Nothing' Congress a Target for Obama in 2012|Patricia Murphy|November 12, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Like the rest of our world, his city had degenerated into subdead induced bedlam.
The Extinction Parade: An Original Zombie Story by Max Brooks|Max Brooks|January 14, 2011|DAILY BEAST

Instead, the tone in Quebec has degenerated to “my-way-or-the-highway.”
Women Fight Back: Don't Ban the Veil!|Sheema Khan|April 8, 2010|DAILY BEAST
But unfortunately the speeches of that time had degenerated into false rhetoric, full of insincerity.
The Battle of Principles|Newell Dwight Hillis
It is degenerated in the common mouth to the meaning almost of 'elementary.'
The Life of Francis Thompson|Everard Meynell
Later still they degenerated into mere angle strips, as in the cathedral of Angra do Heroismo in the Azores and elsewhere.
Portuguese Architecture|Walter Crum Watson
When he was much affected he always “degenerated to the language of his forebears of the Emerald Isle,” as he used to say.
The Winning Touchdown|Lester Chadwick
And you must please to note that manners in those days had not degenerated to what they are in these.
Johnny Ludlow, Fifth Series|Mrs. Henry Wood

British Dictionary definitions for degenerated

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 Formsdegenerately, 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

Word Origin and History for degenerated (1 of 2)

degenerate

1540s, from Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare "fall from ancestral quality" (see degenerate (adj.)). Figurative sense of "to fall off, decline" was in Latin. Related: Degenerated; degenerating.

Word Origin and History for degenerated (1 of 2)

degenerate

adj.

late 15c., from Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare "to be inferior to one's ancestors, to become unlike one's race or kind, fall from ancestral quality," used of physical as well as moral qualities, from phrase de genere, from de + genus (genitive generis) "birth, descent" (see genus). The noun is from 1550s.

Medicine definitions for degenerated

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

adjective

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of degenerate

Examples from the Web for degenerated

British Dictionary definitions for.css-ylq2vz{color:#1a1a1a;} degenerated

degenerate

verb (dɪˈdʒɛnəˌreɪt) (intr)

adjective (dɪˈdʒɛnərɪt)

noun (dɪˈdʒɛnərɪt)

Word Origin for degenerate

Word Origin and History for degenerated (1 of 2)

degenerate

Word Origin and History for degenerated (1 of 2)

degenerate

Medicine definitions for degenerated

degenerate

adj.

v.

British Dictionary definitions for degenerated