Vocabulary Spotlight
Degenerate
Part of Speech: Verb / Noun / Adjective
Definition: To decline or deteriorate physically, mentally, or morally; as a noun, refers to a person with low morals; as an adjective, it means having declined in quality.
“Without proper care, the once-thriving garden began to degenerate into a tangle of weeds.”
Pronunciation
[dih-jen-uh-reyt]
Synonyms, Antonyms & Related Words
Synonyms
Decline
Decay
Degrade
Diminish
Antonyms
Advance
Enhance
Develop
Progress
Related Words
Degenerative (adjective)
Word Origin
“Degenerate” comes from the Latin “degenerare,” meaning “to fall from one’s kind.” It originally referred to decline from a higher or original state.
Word Family
Noun: Degeneration – The process of declining or deteriorating.
Adjective: Degenerative – Tending to deteriorate or decline.
Mnemonics
Think “de-generate” as in to lose or fall from one’s original “generation” or quality.
Industry-specific Usage
Medicine
In medicine, degenerative diseases refer to conditions that cause tissues or organs to deteriorate over time.
Technology
In technology, systems or software that deteriorate in quality or functionality over time are said to degenerate.
Sociology
Sociologists may refer to social values degenerating when societal ethics decline.
In Context
Degenerate is often used to describe decline in moral, physical, or social standards. It has applications in healthcare, technology, and social discussions where quality or values deteriorate.