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degenerate

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de⋅gen⋅er⋅ate

  [v. di-jen-uh-reyt; adj., n. di-jen-er-it] verb, -at⋅ed, -at⋅ing, adjective, noun
Use degenerate in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. 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.
2. to diminish in quality, esp. from a former state of coherence, balance, integrity, etc.: The debate degenerated into an exchange of insults.
3. Pathology. to lose functional activity, as a tissue or organ.
4. 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)
5. to cause degeneration in; bring about a decline, deterioration, or reversion in.
–adjective
6. having fallen below a normal or desirable level, esp. in physical or moral qualities; deteriorated; degraded: a degenerate king.
7. having lost, or become impaired with respect to, the qualities proper to the race or kind: a degenerate vine.
8. characterized by or associated with degeneracy: degenerate times.
9. Mathematics. pertaining to a limiting case of a mathematical system that is more symmetrical or simpler in form than the general case.
10. Physics.
a. (of modes of vibration of a system) having the same frequency.
b. (of quantum states of a system) having equal energy.
–noun
11. a person who has declined, as in morals or character, from a type or standard considered normal.
12. a person or thing that reverts to an earlier stage of culture, development, or evolution.
13. a sexual deviate.
Origin:
1485–95; < L dēgenerātus (ptp. of dēgenerāre to decline from an ancestral standard), equiv. to dē de- + gener-, s. of genus race (see genus ) + -ātus -ate 1 ; see generate

Related forms:
de⋅gen⋅er⋅ate⋅ly, adverb
de⋅gen⋅er⋅ate⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. worsen, decline, backslide, retrogress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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de·gen·er·ate   (dĭ-jěn'ər-ĭt)   
adj.  

  1. Having declined, as in function or nature, from a former or original state: a degenerate form of an ancient folk art.

  2. Having fallen to an inferior or undesirable state, especially in mental or moral qualities.

  3. Physics Relating to two or more quantum states that share the same quantum numbers: degenerate energy levels.

  4. Physics Characterized by great density and consisting of atoms stripped of electrons: degenerate matter.

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

  6. Biology Having lost one or more highly developed functions, characteristics, or structures through evolution: a degenerate life form.

  7. Genetics Having more than one codon that may code for the same amino acid.

n.  

  1. A depraved, corrupt, or vicious person.

  2. A person lacking or having progressively lost normative biological or psychological characteristics.

intr.v.   (-ə-rāt') de·gen·er·at·ed, de·gen·er·at·ing, de·gen·er·ates

  1. To fall below a normal or desirable state, especially functionally or morally; deteriorate: old water pipes that are degenerating with age; a dispute that degenerated into a brawl.

  2. To decline in quality: The quality of his writing degenerated as he continued to drink.

  3. To undergo degeneration.


[Latin dēgenerātus, past participle of dēgenerāre, to depart from one's own kind, deteriorate : dē-, de- + genus, gener-, race; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
de·gen'er·ate·ly adv., de·gen'er·ate·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

degenerate  (adj.)
1494, from L. degeneratus, pp. of degenerare "depart from one's kind, fall from ancestral quality," from phrase de genere, from genus (gen. generis) "birth, descent" (see genus). The verb is from 1545; the noun is 1555.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1de·gen·er·ate
Pronunciation: di-'jen-(&-)r&t
Function: adjective
1 a : having declined (as innature, character, structure, or function) from an ancestral or former state; especially : having deteriorated progressively (as in the process of evolution) especially through loss ofstructure and function b : having sunk to a lower and usually corrupt and vicious state
2 : having more than one codon representing an amino acid; also : being such a codon

Main Entry: 2de·gen·er·ate
Pronunciation: di-'jen-&-"rAt
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Forms: -at·ed;-at·ing
1 : to sink into a low intellectual or moral state
2 : to decline from a former thriving state or from standards proper to a species orrace degenerated, losing their relative autonomy and becoming dependent parasites upon other creatures —Curt Stern>
3 : to evolve or develop into a less functionally active form degenerated>

Main Entry: 3de·gen·er·ate
Pronunciation: di-'jen-(&-)r&t
Function: noun
: one that is degenerate: as a : one degraded from the normal moral standard b : a sexual pervert
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

degenerate de·gen·er·ate (dĭ-jěn'ər-ĭt)
adj.

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

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

v. de·gen·er·at·ed, de·gen·er·at·ing, de·gen·er·ates (-ə-rāt')
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.
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