I. -n(ə)rə̇t, usu -ə̇d.+V adjective
Etymology: Middle English degenerat, from Latin degeneratus, past participle of degenerare to degenerate, from de- + gener-, genus race, kind — more at kin
1. : having sunk to a lower class or standard or to a state below that normal to a type or to a thing:
a.
(1) : having declined markedly (as in vigor and stability or in racial or cultural character) from one's ancestors, predecessors, or one's former self
just as the last degenerate member of a noble family may be unattractive and uninspiring — W.E.Swinton
(2) : losing distinctive racial culture : retrograde
the Mayas were degenerate but they were stubborn — Time
b. : having deteriorated from a former level : devitalized, corrupted
Savonarola's ecclesiastical superior officer … was a monster of perfidy and immorality; and a despairing and degenerate world had sunk into servitude beneath him — W.L.Sullivan
the modern and degenerate society, which had rejected the governance of religion — J.C.Ransom
c. : degraded or debased by loss of moral stability, aesthetic concord, or political integrity
the studies of notorious degenerate families prove nothing very significant about the inheritance of degeneracy — R.M.Lindner
preferred to prop up an effete and degenerate dynasty rather than face a vigorous reformed China — G.F.Hudson
the profession of painting … has esthetically, morally, and in certain quarters even politically become a thoroughly degenerate one — Huntington Hartford
d. : having deteriorated progressively (as in the process of evolution) especially through loss of structure or function — compare degeneration 3b
2. : characterized by lowered standards
the great wrought nails binding the clapboards are unknown in these degenerate days — Herman Melville
3. : breaking up into a product of factors of lower degree — used of an algebraic curve or surface
4. of a gas : characterized by having atoms stripped of most if not all of their electrons as the result of extremely high pressure and temperature in the interior of a very dense star (as a white dwarf) and by being compressed to a density as high as a million times that of water so that the ordinary laws of a perfect gas do not apply
Synonyms: see vicious
II. -nəˌrāt, usu -ād.+V verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Latin degeneratus
intransitive verb
1. obsolete
a. : to show a decline from ancestral or earlier character and quality
b. : to show variation from normal type
2. : to pass from a higher to a lower type or condition:
a. : to descend to a markedly worse condition in kind or degree : worsen conspicuously
the road … degenerated to little more than a goat track — Michael Swan
its fine houses one by one degenerating into rooming houses — Marcia Davenport
her fixed mysterious smile degenerated into a fatuous stare — J.C.Powys
b. : to become unstable and sink to some discreditable, despicable, or disastrous state
unfortunately, in practice, rotation in office degenerated into the spoils system — E.M.Eriksson
debate was degenerating into partisan squabbling
lest this international crisis degenerate into world war
c. : to decline to an unworthy secondary status through impairment of essential quality or integrity
the phrase which they have reiterated ad nauseam has degenerated into a ponderous platitude — W.F.Hambly
has not lost its dignity or degenerated into mere prettiness — O. Elfrida Saunders
religion is tending to degenerate into a decent formula wherewith to embellish a comfortable life — A.N.Whitehead
3. : to decline intellectually or morally or from one's peculiar character or former standards usually to a shameful or despicable level
mentally and physically the Indians degenerated with the taking on of the white men's vices — American Guide Series: Massachusetts
of heroic stature but ultimately degenerating into a typical medieval dictator — R.A.Hall b. 1911
4. : to decline from a former thriving state or from standards proper to a species or race : retrograde
dinosaurs degenerated and disappeared
mallards are prone anyway to degenerate into the barnyard type — W.L.McAtee
all through the evolution of life many forms have degenerated, losing their relative autonomy and becoming dependent parasites upon other creatures — Curt Stern
5. : to decline in literary, aesthetic, or artistic quality and become altered to a debased substitute or poor imitation
denunciation of the rampant charlatanism into which the surrealist movement has apparently degenerated — Bernard Smith
their metaphor degenerates into a series of isolated and barren conceits — C.D.Lewis
6. biology : to undergo progressive deterioration : become of a lower type — see degeneration 3
transitive verb
: to cause to degenerate
the Etruscans were receptive to new ideas and applied them with energy, usually only to degenerate them in the end — A.L.Kroeber
III. like degenerate I noun
( -s )
Etymology: degenerate (I)
: a person declining conspicuously from the normal character or the standard set by his kind in the normal course of development: as
a. : one who is degraded from the normal moral standard
they had rotted in the last two centuries into mere drunkards and dandy degenerates — G.K.Chesterton
degenerates are usually about the same type as psychopathics, namely, individuals who intellectually and especially affectively react differently from the average — A.A.Brill
b. : one who is debased by a psychopathic tendency
he has an urge to kill and destroy women … he may be considered a sexual psychopath and degenerate — Fred Galvin
c. : a sexual pervert — not used technically
d. : one showing signs of reversion to an earlier culture stage
it is possible that some of these are cultural degenerates; most ethnologists, however, prefer to regard the majority as culturally retarded — R.W.Murray
IV. adjective
1. : being mathematically simpler (as by having a factor or constant equal to zero) than the typical case
the graph of a second degree equation yielding two intersecting lines is a degenerate hyperbola
2.
a. : having two or more states or subdivisions especially of the same energy or frequency
degenerate orbital
degenerate oscillation
b. of a semiconductor : having a sufficient concentration of impurities to conduct electricity as a semimetal
3. : having more than one codon representing an amino acid ; also : being such a codon
4. : consisting of degenerate matter
a degenerate star