Main Entry:

de·gen·er·a·tion

Pronunciation:

\di-ˌje-nə-ˈrā-shən, ˌdē-\

Function:

noun

Date:

15th century

1: degenerate condition2: a lowering of effective power, vitality, or essential quality to an enfeebled and worsened kind or state3: intellectual, moral, or artistic decline4 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