degenerate
verb (used without object)
to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate.
was degenerating
-
past progressiveof degenerate.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As with many people with Alzheimer’s, the man’s hippocampus — a brain region controlling learning and memory — was smaller than average at the time of his death, suggesting that it was degenerating.
From Scientific American ● May 17, 2023
Then doctors told them what tests revealed: Their daughter’s brain was degenerating and would continue to do so until she passed away.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 27, 2022
But where they tried to wield government power--to remoralize a culture they believed was degenerating before their eyes--they hit a wall.
From Time Magazine Archive
Even as the case against Manuel Noriega was degenerating into a legal three- ring circus, the country he once dominated was mired in a deep slump.
From Time Magazine Archive
It seemed to me that if a man did not sweat every day, which was to say—labor hard—he very surely was degenerating physically.
From Tales of lonely trails by Zane Grey
