■ adjective dɪ'dʒɛn(ə)rət
1》 having lost the physical or moral qualities considered normal and desirable; showing evidence of decline.
↘ Biology having reverted to a simpler form as a result of losing a structure present in the ancestral form.
2》 Physics relating to or denoting a quantized energy level corresponding to more than one state.
↘denoting matter at such high density (e.g. in neutron stars) that quantum effects are dominant.
■ noun dɪ'dʒɛn(ə)rət a morally ~ person.
■ verb dɪ'dʒɛnəreɪt decline or deteriorate physically or morally.
Derivatives
degeneracy noun
~ly adverb
Origin
C15: from L. degeneratus 'no longer of its kind', from degenerare , from degener 'debased', from de- + genus , gener- 'race, kind'.