as in deteriorated
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Dissimilar Words
as in worsened
to become worse or of less value
over the years the community-minded organization degenerated into a club for loafers
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of degenerated
Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Our national political and cultural discourse, especially online, has degenerated into a permanent fever dream.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The bear bowled Propst over backward, and the encounter degenerated into lopsided hand-to-fang combat.
—John McCoy, Outdoor Life, 12 Nov. 2025
Verb
After a police operation in Rio de Janeiro in October degenerated into a chaotic shootout, leading to more than 120 deaths, Brazilian civil society groups reacted in horror.
—Brian Winter, Foreign Affairs, 16 Dec. 2025
Our national political and cultural discourse, especially online, has degenerated into a permanent fever dream.
—Josh Hammer, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Dec. 2025
The bear bowled Propst over backward, and the encounter degenerated into lopsided hand-to-fang combat.
—John McCoy, Outdoor Life, 12 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degenerated
Adjective
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The Housatonic Railroad Company will receive $2,636,382 for replacing two grade crossing surfaces in New Milford, replacing deteriorated ties along its corridor.—
Sean Krofssik,
Hartford Courant,
15 Mar. 2026
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The films arrived in deteriorated condition, with about 10 reels that had been shuttled from basements to barns to garages.—
Eric Henderson,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The rebels' takeover of Goma last year has worsened conditions for journalists operating in eastern Congo, where threats and attacks were already widespread.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Mar. 2026
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As his condition worsened, Gael grew increasingly distressed and began hitting himself, according to the family’s lawyer, Elora Mukherjee.—
Mike Hixenbaugh,
NBC news,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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On March 9, Hims & Hers announced a new partnership with Novo Nordisk, after an earlier attempt at a pact crumbled last year.—
CHRISTOPHER ROWLAND THE WASHINGTON POST,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
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After Hurricane Milton, a 2024 Category 4 hurricane, the DEP issued an emergency order in Tampa Bay for immediate repairs to its seawalls that crumbled during the storm.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
20 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The Santa Ynez complex, then owned by a different company, spilled more than 100,000 gallons of oil near Refugio State Beach in 2015 after a corroded pipeline burst, prompting the state to shut down operations until certain conditions were met.—
Sharon Bernstein,
Sacbee.com,
25 Mar. 2026
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The infrastructure is part of an offshore oil operation that had been closed since 2015, when a corroded section of one of the pipelines burst and caused one of the state’s worst oil spills.—
Grace Toohey,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As an unseasonable heatwave descended last week, auto mechanic Gustavo Gonzalez, 44, sat on a couch at his lot beneath an oak tree.—
Grant Stringer,
Mercury News,
26 Mar. 2026
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After hosting a huge comeback concert in Seoul, BTS descended on New York City for a Spotify showcase followed by performances at the Guggenheim for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
25 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Its contaminated followers were one step removed from the beasts of the field.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Mar. 2026
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The company later recovered more than 888,000 gallons of contaminated fuel that had mixed with other gasoline already in the tanks.—
Jasmine Arenas,
CBS News,
8 Mar. 2026
Verb
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All of the candidates would be newcomers to the board, since incumbents Denise Fears and Blake Roberson declined to run.—
Eleanor Nash,
Kansas City Star,
28 Mar. 2026
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Uber declined to comment on its latest entry into the autonomous vehicle market.—
Michael Butler,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Across the Northern Hemisphere, migratory fish such as salmon, sturgeon and shad have suffered major losses because rivers have been dammed and polluted, while many populations were heavily overfished.—
Zeb Hogan,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
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Bangladesh and Tajikistan were second and third on the most polluted list.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Degenerated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degenerated. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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