degenerating

verb

present participle of degenerate
as in deteriorating
to become worse or of less value over the years the community-minded organization degenerated into a club for loafers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of degenerating McFarland found the items inside a degenerating family trunk. — Gabrielle Rockson, PEOPLE, 21 Apr. 2026 But in general, any organic media is going to start degenerating over time, and the pH is going to be higher. — Ryan Conner, Dallas Morning News, 1 Apr. 2026 Scientists have hailed the benefits of exercising early in life to lower the risk of your brain degenerating later. — Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 29 Nov. 2025 In the Pacific, meteorologists are watching to see how much rain the degenerating Tropical Storm Mario could carry into the San Diego region. — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degenerating
  1. deteriorating
  2. crumbling
  3. worsening
  4. descending
  5. declining
Verb
  • Venezuela's industry has suffered from decades of underinvestment, deteriorating infrastructure and the loss of technical expertise.
    — Robert Rapier, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026
  • The woods surrounding the cottage also needed work to remove trash, deteriorating hunting structures and invasive species, the letter said.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of deteriorating
Verb
  • For decades, Mamdani’s predecessors have found the only choice more politically unpalatable than letting the whole three-layer cake of infrastructure crumble away is trying to stop it from crumbling.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Also, why put this burden on federal agencies that are experiencing record low staffing shortages in facilities that are crumbling.
    — Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of crumbling
Verb
  • Once a rare occurrence, the ominous signal is becoming a more regular event thanks to the worsening climate crisis.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Residents accused the maps of worsening the insurance crisis and tanking property values.
    — Noah Haggerty, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of worsening
Verb
  • After descending in a metal cage elevator, Riff Raff removes his cape, revealing Frank-N-Furter in a corset, fishnets and pearls.
    — Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Dropping off the ridges into the canyons was like descending into a furnace.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of descending
Verb
  • The Little Rock School District faces declining enrollment and financial challenges.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The cliff bee population is declining due to overharvesting, habitat destruction and climate change.
    — Prayan Pokharel, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of declining

Browse Nearby Words

degenerates
degenerating
degeneration
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Degenerating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degenerating. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 28

Why do we say 'break a leg'?
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All