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degenerate - Meaning and Examples

Meaning of 'degenerate' (Webster Dictionary)

1 . Degenerate [ a.]
- Having become worse than one's kind, or one's former state; having declined in worth; having lost in goodness; deteriorated; degraded; unworthy; base; low.
2 . Degenerate [ v. i.]
- To be or grow worse than one's kind, or than one was originally; hence, to be inferior; to grow poorer, meaner, or more vicious; to decline in good qualities; to deteriorate.
- To fall off from the normal quality or the healthy structure of its kind; to become of a lower type.

Meaning of 'degenerate' (Princeton's WordNet)

1 . degenerate [ v]
Meaning (1):
- grow worse
Example in sentence:
  • Conditions in the slum worsened;
  • Conditions in the slums degenerated;
  • Her condition deteriorated;
  • The discussion devolved into a shouting match
2 . degenerate [ s]
Meaning (2):
- unrestrained by convention or morality
Example in sentence:
  • Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society;
  • deplorably dissipated and degraded;
  • fast women;
  • riotous living

Nearby Words:

degarnish degarnished degarnishing degarnishment degender degener degeneracy degenerated degenerately degenerateness

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