degeneration

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

|Updated on: 8 Aug 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: degeneration in a Sentence

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 forms

b : deterioration of a tissue or an organ in which its function is diminished or its structure is impaired

a degeneration of cartilage

See degeneration defined for kids

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

When Ndopu was 2 years old, he was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), an incurable condition that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.

— NBC News, "'Black, queer, disabled and brilliant': Activist hopes to make history in space," 26 June 2018
No single brain sample would display this great a variety of injured Purkinje neurons in the cerebellum (a cat’s), but Cajal showed it this way in his 1914 drawing to convey the sequence of cellular degeneration.

— sharon begley, STAT, "In ‘Beautiful Brain,’ the secrets of neurons emerge in Nobel-winning scientist’s ink and pencil drawings," 3 May 2018
The circulation of the destructive components causes the the degeneration of the brain.

— christina oehler, Woman's Day, "Scientists Reveal A Cure For Alzheimer's Disease May Be Closer Than We Thought," 17 July 2015
Covering this degeneration for the last year and a half has stressed me beyond any expectation.

— andrew sullivan, Daily Intelligencer, "Is the World Done With Liberal Democracy?," 1 June 2018
About 30% percent of people diagnosed with XP also experience neurological degeneration.

— maya eliahou and justin lear, CNN, "Her rare skin condition keeps her indoors, but she braved the sun to walk at graduation," 9 June 2018
Brown has to manage a sickle-cell trait that can cause muscle degeneration for those who perform strenuous exercise.

— childs walker, baltimoresun.com, "Ravens' new wide receivers show early signs of promise during workouts," 1 June 2018
Trump is merely the latest evidence of the intellectual degeneration of conservatism.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Why Liberal Media Need Conservative Columnists," 10 May 2018
The cause was senile degeneration of the brain, said a daughter, Katherine Shorey Herold.

— Washington Post, "Lloyd Hyde real estate developer," 16 Apr. 2018

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

degeneration Synonyms

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

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

2 a : 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 degeneration

b : 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)