1
as in weak
having lost forcefulness, courage, or spirit
a degenerate society in which people had no sense of being citizens, only consumers
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2
as in corrupt
having or showing lowered moral character or standards
a movie about a gang of degenerate drug dealers
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as in pervert
a person who has sunk below the normal moral standard
a degenerate who is uninterested in anything but his own gratification
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as in to deteriorate
to become worse or of less value
over the years the community-minded organization degenerated into a club for loafers
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of degenerate
Zachary Siegel, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2024
The result is a book laden with put-downs of the English working class, who are cast in eugenicist terms as a degenerate race.
—Lennard J. Davis, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2024
Tim Padgett, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024
When valuable treasure is discovered off the coast of Korea, the country’s biggest degenerates come crawling out of the woodwork in the hope of striking it big.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
Mehmet Oz, who would supervise Medicare and Medicaid, was a respected heart surgeon before degenerating into snake-oil television salesmanship.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 9 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for degenerate
Adjective
Or have his years in finance scrambled his brain and turned him into a degenerate gambler, both at the office and outside it?
—Zachary Siegel, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2024
The result is a book laden with put-downs of the English working class, who are cast in eugenicist terms as a degenerate race.
—Lennard J. Davis, The Conversation, 13 Aug. 2024
Noun
There’s the medieval brutality: Gómez was a homicidal degenerate who collected torture methods instead of stamps.
—Tim Padgett, Orlando Sentinel, 9 Aug. 2024
When valuable treasure is discovered off the coast of Korea, the country’s biggest degenerates come crawling out of the woodwork in the hope of striking it big.
—Patrick Frater, Variety, 15 Apr. 2024
Verb
This latest performance degenerated into a litany of basic defensive errors, as illustrated by all three of Brentford’s first-half goals.
—Rob Tanner, The Athletic, 21 Feb. 2025
Mehmet Oz, who would supervise Medicare and Medicaid, was a respected heart surgeon before degenerating into snake-oil television salesmanship.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 9 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for degenerate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degenerate
Adjective
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The report also included a number of ‘weak’ odor sources observed during the study, including odors emanating from the Curaleaf cannabis facility on Britt Road and Goldflower Cannabis facility on Niles Road.—
James Wilkins,
The Orlando Sentinel,
9 May 2025
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Thompson’s brother Maurice, who allegedly drove the chasing Chevrolet Equinox, was granted bail in October — indicating a potentially weak case.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
9 May 2025
Adjective
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That included former interim U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon, who wrote in her resignation letter that Adams had entered into a corrupt quid pro quo with Trump to get rid of his case by offering immigration enforcement assistance in exchange for a dismissal.—
Chris Sommerfeldt,
New York Daily News,
10 May 2025
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He has been banned for life from the city of Bonita Springs, having once sunk a corrupt city councilman’s party barge, but shows little remorse.—
Amy Weiss-Meyer,
The Atlantic,
8 May 2025
Noun
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Just when things are looking up — a haughty British couple leaves this daughter of Oxfordshire a handsome tip — the dinner pervert turns up for his morning coffee.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
23 Mar. 2025
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Outside the courthouse on Friday, Toner’s lawyer made a brief statement about his pervert client.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
22 Mar. 2025
Verb
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In March, Rose Shalom of Sunland lost her husband, Mannie Rezende, who had slowly deteriorated from Alzheimer’s over several years.—
Steve Lopez,
Mercury News,
7 May 2025
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Bloomberg | Getty Images Hugo Boss on Tuesday pointed to deteriorating U.S. consumer confidence, with uncertainty around tariffs, recession risks and immigration policy dampening both domestic and tourist spend in its largest single market.—
Karen Gilchrist,
CNBC,
6 May 2025
Adjective
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The Freshwater Challenge is an initiative of countries—currently 49 countries plus the European Union—that have committed to collectively restoring 300,000 kilometers of degraded rivers and 350 million hectares of degraded wetlands.—
Jeff Opperman,
Forbes.com,
1 May 2025
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The resulting service gaps leave service providers relying on alternate methods that in many places result in a degraded customer interaction.—
Glenn Katz,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Verb
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That the posing and posturing for the public continued even as the Pentagon descended into turmoil over his rocky leadership seemed to say something, too.—
Jonathan Swan,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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The hospital’s staff had braced for an onslaught of wounded after learning of the disaster, an army of ambulances having descended on the farm to the southwest of the city center where the plane’s carcass lay burning.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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This cake had impressive floral designs, and beautiful pastel colors, and the buttercream itself was decadent and true-to-form.—
Catherine Jessee,
Southern Living,
3 May 2025
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Later in the piece, as the audience is ushered into a decadent cabaret space carved out of the Agger Fish Building, another amazing and largely untold tale is teased, revealed, and spun.—
Corey Seymour,
Vogue,
2 May 2025
Adjective
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Without the vaccine, these 22 million Americans could get sick, hospitalized and even die.—
Omer Awan,
Forbes.com,
3 May 2025
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Chihuahua health officials trace their first case to an 8-year-old Mennonite child who visited family in Seminole, got sick and spread the virus at school.—
DEVI SHASTRI,
Chicago Tribune,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degenerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degenerate. Accessed 17 May. 2025.
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