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😈 Morally corrupt ⬇️ To get worse 🕴️ A corrupt person
to degenerate

to degenerate

34 6.3
To become worse and lose order or control
  • verb
  • /dɪˈdʒɛnəˌreɪt/
translation icon : degenerar
  • After the factory closed, the area around it started to degenerate, with buildings falling into disrepair.
  • quickly degenerate
  • then degenerate

And confidence will surround those areas where they're having success and will degenerate in cases where they're having failure.

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Examples

  • Few would deny that American universities have degenerated at an accelerating rate since the late 1960s.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Resta's once warm relationship with the Marchetti as friends and patrons degenerated into one of strife and bitterness.

    Academic text (1997)

  • And that selecting the nation's leaders should not degenerate into a spending contest.

  • The city degenerated into a total fear zone.

    Demolition Man (1993)

  • Without the market and without the liberal state, democracy is bound to degenerate into dictatorship.

    Academic text (1996)

  • And slowly I've watched my own side degenerate into lunacy.

  • And confidence will surround those areas where they're having success and will degenerate in cases where they're having failure.

    Lex Fridman

  • What started out as a passionate love affair between two good-looking and well-off people degenerated into incompatibility.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • Tens of thousands of Iraqis had fled their homes, and Baghdad had degenerated into armed sectarian enclaves.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Over the years, the once-thriving community has begun to degenerate as businesses close and people move away.

Synonyms

to decline
vsto degenerate
344 3.7

To become less over time, for example in value or health

focuses more on falling into a worse or inferior state
to deteriorate
vsto degenerate
146 5.9

To get worse in quality, condition, or value

includes moral or character decline as well as physical worsening
to degrade
vsto degenerate
55 5.1

To treat someone so they feel ashamed or less respected

describes becoming worse in quality or character without outside mistreatment
to go downhill
vsto degenerate
  • Informal
37 3.9

To become worse over time in quality or condition

is the neutral, more formal term for a decline in state
to devolve
vsto degenerate
20 7.4

To become worse and more chaotic

can be sudden or gradual worsening rather than only slow change
to dilapidate
vsto degenerate
1 8.4

To fall into ruin or cause something to fall into ruin because it is not cared for

covers general decline beyond only physical ruin from neglect
to degrade gracefully
vsto degenerate
7.0

To become worse slowly in a calm, controlled way without sudden failure

shows decline without the controlled or dignified manner

Antonyms

to improve
∞ 1.0

To make something better

to enhance
424 4.0

Make something better or more attractive

to advance
417 3.4

To help something move forward or become better

How Bad

to collapse
579 3.9
to degenerate
34 6.3
to deteriorate
146 5.9

Surface Forms

degenerate infinitive
degenerated past
degenerated past participle
degenerating present participle
degenerates third person singular

Morphology

degenerate = generate (opaque) = de + generate

Although 'de-' suggests reversal or downward movement, the modern verb 'degenerate' meaning 'to decline' is not a straightforward negation of 'generate' and reflects a semantic shift.

Etymology

The verb degenerate comes from the Latin parts de- 'down' and generare 'to produce', like the word generate. So when something degenerates it 'falls down' from its better state and becomes worse or less healthy.