degeneration

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noun de·gen·er·a·tion \di-ˌje-nə-ˈrā-shən, ˌdē-\

Definition of degeneration

1 : degenerate (see ¹degenerate) condition
2 : a lowering of effective power, vitality, or essential quality to an enfeebled and worsened kind or state the country's degeneration into chaos … enacts the degeneration of politics into televisual entertainment … — Linda Holt
3 : intellectual, moral, or artistic decline Many of her stories show the degeneration of a principled person into a lethal one … — Susannah Clapp … argue that the tradition has radically devolved, and that books like “The Kiss,” by Kathryn Harrison, represent the degeneration of a once ennobled form. — Deborah E. McDowell
4 biology a : progressive deterioration of physical characters from a level representing the norm of earlier generations or formsb : deterioration of a tissue or an organ in which its function is diminished or its structure is impaired a degeneration of cartilage

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Examples of degeneration in a Sentence

the organization's degeneration from a movement for political reform to just another political party
the troubling degeneration of his memory since he reached middle age

Recent Examples of degeneration from the Web

Her flying career ended in 1992 due to macular degeneration, the Clinic said.

— julie washington, cleveland.com, "Timken Foundation's $10 million gift allows Cleveland Clinic to expand Cole Eye Institute", 2 June 2017
Whittaker found that Indira had moderately crossed eyes, the beginnings of retinal degeneration, and thick, rock-hard cataracts on both eyes.

— National Geographic, "How Do You Do Eye Surgery on a 600-Pound Tiger?", 27 May 2017
Niemtzow, an oncologist, also sees acupuncture as a way to treat obesity and macular degeneration.

— noah shachtman, WIRED, "Air Force to Use ‘Battlefield Acupuncture’ for Pain Relief", 11 Dec. 2008

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'degeneration'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of degeneration

see ¹degenerate

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First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

Synonym Discussion of degeneration

deterioration, degeneration, decadence, decline mean the falling from a higher to a lower level in quality, character, or vitality. deterioration implies generally the impairment of value or usefulness. the deterioration of the house through neglect degeneration stresses physical, intellectual, or especially moral retrogression. the degeneration of their youthful idealism into cynicism decadence presupposes a reaching and passing the peak of development and implies a turn downward with a consequent loss in vitality or energy. cited love of luxury as a sign of cultural decadence decline differs from decadence in suggesting a more markedly downward direction and greater momentum as well as more obvious evidence of deterioration. the meteoric decline of his career after the scandal

Medical Dictionary

degeneration

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noun de·gen·er·a·tion \di-ˌjen-ə-ˈrā-shən, ˌdē-\

Medical Definition of degeneration

1: intellectual or moral decline tending toward dissolution of character or integrity : a progressive worsening of personal adjustment
2a: progressive deterioration of physical characters from a level representing the norm of earlier generations or forms : regression of the morphology of a group or kind of organism toward a simpler less highly organized state parasitism leads to degenerationb: deterioration of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality is diminished or its structure impaired; especially : deterioration in which specialized cells are replaced by less specialized cells (as in fibrosis or in malignancies) or in which cells are functionally impaired (as by deposition of abnormal matter in the tissue)