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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Matt Thompson, SPIN, 5 Nov. 2024
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
Boris Fishman, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
On The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, these now-geriatric degenerates will duke it out for the only prize worth fighting for: making their kids proud.
—Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2024
New Atlas, 30 June 2025
On Saturday, after a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests degenerated into violence, the administration reacted as if the country were on the brink of war.
—David French, Mercury News, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for degenerate
Adjective
Ammon did appear tempted to talk the walk in Portland, to become the Mormon cowboy philosopher king wandering a degenerate realm of an ailing Republic, but by now time was in extremely short supply.
—Matt Thompson, SPIN, 5 Nov. 2024
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
Noun
At another point, a surface-to-air missile takes out a passenger airliner, something that really happened — but the attack is as purposeless here as the tragic original event, other than to remind us that Valet, who surveys the wreckage for valuables, is a degenerate.
—Boris Fishman, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2025
On The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, these now-geriatric degenerates will duke it out for the only prize worth fighting for: making their kids proud.
—Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 14 Aug. 2024
Verb
Overall, this study furthers our understanding of glycogen stores and how healthy neurons can quickly degenerate if the conditions for impeding metabolism are present.
—New Atlas, 30 June 2025
On Saturday, after a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests degenerated into violence, the administration reacted as if the country were on the brink of war.
—David French, Mercury News, 10 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for degenerate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degenerate
Adjective
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The Royals made a lot of weak contact, which resulted in a mix of groundouts.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
9 Sep. 2025
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Last week, a weaker-than-expected jobs report added to expectations of an imminent rate cut by the central bank.—
Chloe Taylor,
CNBC,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The story of corrupt small-town cops taking on a former Marine was written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier and stars Aaron Pierre, Don Johnson and AnnaSophia Robb.—
Jack Smart,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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Delegates and party leaders described it as a corrupt and hypocritical maneuver from the governor.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Boiled down to a thoughtless pervert by the public, Six became one.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
21 Aug. 2025
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What follows is a floor-by-floor descent into madness as Bobby battles bloodthirsty perverts, demonic flash mobs, and hallucinogenic suburban nightmares, all while trying to figure out if he’s meant to be the hero… or just the last guy standing.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
14 July 2025
Verb
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The 112-year-old school building has asbestos and a deteriorating foundation.—
Erica Mosca,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Sep. 2025
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But when the levees failed, thousands of people were trapped inside as supplies dwindled and conditions deteriorated quickly.—
Sarah Alegre,
FOXNews.com,
4 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Of the 20 dead cats, eight were too decayed for a necropsy exam, which determines the cause of death of a dead animal and any associated diseases or injuries.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
7 Aug. 2025
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The breakthrough came when researchers focused on coelomic fluid, the internal liquid surrounding the sea stars’ organs, rather than tissue from decayed specimens.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Developed by Toyota, the Sweep Energy Storage System rapidly switches each battery’s power flow on and off in mere microseconds, even when new batteries are connected to degraded or different capacity batteries.—
Georgina Jedikovska,
Interesting Engineering,
22 Aug. 2025
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Yet, as Beech pointed out, a lot of the material goods actually from the ‘70s are of a lower quality than earlier decades and also more degraded than the period relics of the ‘80s and ‘90s.—
Sarah Shachat,
IndieWire,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Journalists and television crews from around the world descended on the town of Morwell when the trial began in April, with millions of Australians following proceedings live through one of several popular daily podcasts.—
Alasdair Pal,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
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Justin Jefferson and the Minnesota Vikings descend down to the shores of Lake Michigan, where Caleb Williams’ Chicago Bears await.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The chocolate glaze is utterly decadent.—
Alana Al-Hatlani,
Southern Living,
6 Sep. 2025
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Eat Well Modern safari kitchens are a culinary delight—from fresh sourdough baked at dawn and garden herbs, to five-course meals paired with decadent South African vintages.—
Karin Jones,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degenerate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degenerate. Accessed 12 Sep. 2025.
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