n.
Pronunciation: di- ˌ je-n ə - ' r ā -sh ə n, ˌ d ē -
Function: noun
Date: 15th century
1 : degenerate condition
2 : a lowering of effective power, vitality, or essential quality to an enfeebled and worsened kind or state
3 : intellectual, moral, or artistic decline
4 a : progressive deterioration of physical characters from a level representing the norm of earlier generations or forms b : deterioration of a tissue or an organ in which its function is diminished or its structure is impaired
synonyms see DETERIORATION