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RELATED WORDS

worsen, disintegrate, lapse, revert, descend, regress, lessen, retrogress, decline, return, corrode, deprave, decrease, sink, slip, corrupt, rot, backslide, vitiate

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
Related formsde·gen·er·ate·ly, adverbde·gen·er·ate·ness, nounnon·de·gen·er·ate, adjective, nounnon·de·gen·er·ate·ly, adverbnon·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

Synonyms for degenerate

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR degenerate ON THESAURUS.COM
1. worsen, decline, backslide, retrogress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for degenerating

Contemporary Examples of degenerating

Historical Examples of degenerating

  • Ladies, ladies—this is degenerating into a mere hammer-fest.

    The Spenders

    Harry Leon Wilson

  • The world has been degenerating into a maudlin state of sentiment for some years.

    Roden's Corner

    Henry Seton Merriman

  • Having been a coxcomb in his youth, Fox was now degenerating into the sloven.

  • He looked as if he were degenerating into the grub even before he died.

  • Cows that are degenerating into consumption are exceedingly subject to abortion.

British Dictionary definitions for degenerating

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
  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
(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 degenerating

degenerate

v.

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.

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.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for degenerating

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.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.