degenerate

intransitive-verb
UK: /dɪˈdʒen.ə.reɪt/
US: /dɪˈdʒen.ə.reɪt/

  1. To become worse in quality.

    1. The fight will degenerate into insults soon.
    2. Over time, the old film began to degenerate, losing its original clarity.

  2. To decline morally; to sink to a lower standard of behavior.

    1. He will degenerate if he stays with them.
    2. The discussion quickly degenerated into a heated argument about politics.

Synonyms

depraved decline deteriorate worsen immoral corrupt
degenerate transitive-verb

  1. To cause something to decline in quality or morality.

    1. Don't let stress degenerate your health.
    2. The lack of funding can degenerate the quality of the educational program.
degenerate adjective

  1. Having declined in quality; corrupt.

    1. The empire was now in a degenerate state.
    2. Critics described the later novels as degenerate compared to his early work.
degenerate noun

  1. A person whose behavior is not morally good or acceptable.

    1. He was viewed as a degenerate by society.
    2. The book tells a story about a group of degenerates living on the streets.

Frequently Asked Questions

The word "degenerate" in English means: To become worse in quality., To decline morally; to sink to a lower standard of behavior..

The phonetic transcription of "degenerate" is /dɪˈdʒen.ə.reɪt/ in British English and /dɪˈdʒen.ə.reɪt/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "degenerate": depraved, decline, deteriorate, worsen, immoral, corrupt.

Example usage of "degenerate": "The fight will degenerate into insults soon.". More examples on the page.