n.
Pronunciation: di- ' je-n ə - ˌ r ā t, d ē -
Function: intransitive verb
Date: 1545
1 : to pass from a higher to a lower type or condition : DETERIORATE
2 : to sink into a low intellectual or moral state
3 : to decline in quality <the poetry gradually degenerate s into jingles>
4 : to decline from a condition or from the standards of a species, race, or breed
5 : to evolve or develop into a less autonomous or less functionally active form < degenerated into dependent parasites>
transitive verb : to cause to degenerate