degenerate

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

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

See synonyms for: degenerate / degenerating 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.

SYNONYMS FOR degenerate

1 worsen, decline, backslide, retrogress.

See synonyms for degenerate on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of degenerate

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

OTHER WORDS FROM degenerate

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. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for degenerate

Soon Conrad Habicht, a mathematics student, joined the conversation, and the three young bohemians formed something of a book club for highbrowed degenerates.
When Einstein Tilted at Windmills - Issue 93: Forerunners|Amanda Gefter|November 18, 2020|Nautilus
But other states, especially Russia, have had trouble adjusting to a market economy, degenerating into massive kleptocracies.
Cuba Is A Kleptocracy, Not Communist|Romina Ruiz-Goiriena|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Our culture, he argued, has been degenerating since the 1960s.
Rick Santorum Ambushed at Personhood Forum by Abortion Flyers, Ron Paul Fans|Michelle Goldberg|January 19, 2012|DAILY BEAST
[But] given my degenerating portability, I'm probably not suitable for live-in-studio-Charles-Rose-TV.
Requiem for a Tough Guy|Kurt Andersen|June 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST

He did all that was in his power to do to prevent his authority from degenerating into tyranny.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 5|Various
It has a more immoral and degenerating effect upon the mind because it is applied directly.
The Curse of Education|Harold E. Gorst
English rabbits are degenerating in size, and the introduction of some of the continental varieties would be beneficial.
Poachers and Poaching|John Watson
A few generations of such a degenerating process would either exterminate the race or drive it back to Darwin's ancestral ape.
Plain Facts for Old and Young|John Harvey Kellogg
The degenerating of grace, is a way of backsliding, very common, and too little observed.
A Christian Directory (Volume 1 of 4)|Richard Baxter

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 of degenerate

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

Medical 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.

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degenerate

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