1
as in deterioration
a change to a lower state or level
the organization's degeneration from a movement for political reform to just another political party
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2
as in weakening
a gradual sinking and wasting away of mind or body
the troubling degeneration of his memory since he reached middle age
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3
as in degradation
a sinking to a state of low moral standards and behavior
the general degeneration that characterized so many old mining towns, which had only drinking and gambling for entertainment
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of degeneration
And, based on MRI scans taken at the beginning and end of the study, the intervention group appeared to have slower degeneration of cartilage in their knees.
—
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025
This motivated us to design this randomized clinical trial to more rigorously test whether gait retraining improves pain and slows cartilage degeneration compared to a sham treatment over a longer time period (one year).
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
The diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, a brain disorder caused by degeneration of the brain's frontal lobe, comes nearly a year after Willis' family confirmed the movie icon, now 67, was stepping away from acting due to an aphasia diagnosis.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
And their medial knee cartilage showed less worsening, suggesting slower cartilage degeneration.
—New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degeneration
The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2025
This motivated us to design this randomized clinical trial to more rigorously test whether gait retraining improves pain and slows cartilage degeneration compared to a sham treatment over a longer time period (one year).
—Thomas Westerholm, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Aug. 2025
The diagnosis of frontotemporal dementia, a brain disorder caused by degeneration of the brain's frontal lobe, comes nearly a year after Willis' family confirmed the movie icon, now 67, was stepping away from acting due to an aphasia diagnosis.
—Edward Segarra, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2025
And their medial knee cartilage showed less worsening, suggesting slower cartilage degeneration.
—New Atlas, 12 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degeneration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degeneration
Noun
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Some of it is also related to the age and deterioration of much of the grid, which now requires rebuilding.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The deterioration in the labor market has been concentrated in payroll employment, which is the [datapoint] that is the most susceptible to demographic and immigration changes.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Noun
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After improvements in passenger totals in 2021, 2022, and 2023, San Jose and Oakland both began to suffer slumps in 2024 and the weakening pattern has lingered well into 2025, a review of official airport statistics shows.—
HECTOR AMEZCUA,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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After improvements in passenger totals in 2021, 2022, and 2023, San Jose and Oakland both began to suffer slumps in 2024 and the weakening pattern has lingered well into 2025, a review of official airport statistics shows.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Labbate is head of the Climate Mitigation Unit and is global team leader of the UN-REDD Programme at UNEP, which is aimed at reducing emissions from deforestation and land degradation.—
Jeff Young,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
-
In contrast, Mitsubishi’s PHEVs showed noticeable degradation even at relatively low mileages, though this decline tended to level off later in the vehicle’s life.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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However, the league is looking to its next steps to after the 2025 season saw a 5% decline in game attendance, according to Sports Business Journal.—
Jessica Golden,
CNBC,
6 Nov. 2025
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But their party went into swift decline during the Cold War that began in the late 1940s and barely exists today.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Keep the mulch at least two inches away from woody stems to prevent decay and disease.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
-
The Tyranids represent man's fear of the natural world, nature's inexorable ability to overwhelm, decay, and devour all of man's greatest works.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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India became Sri Lanka’s de facto lender of last resort without requiring the Sri Lankan government to address concerns about the human rights abuses, militarization, or corruption that fueled the country’s political crisis.—
MUHIB RAHMAN,
Foreign Affairs,
12 Nov. 2025
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But turnout has been persistently low, months of horse-trading to form a government are likely to follow, and voters are weary of high levels of corruption.—
Prashant Rao,
semafor.com,
11 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Jupiter is currently situated against the stars of Gemini the Twins where the ecliptic — the apparent path of the sun, moon and planets — comes farthest north, at +23 degrees declination.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
8 Nov. 2025
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Presenting their findings in a lengthy declination memo, the prosecutors explicitly mentioned the two other investigations to bolster their recommendation that probable cause does not exist to charge Comey, according to sources familiar with the contents of the memo.—
Katherine Faulders,
ABC News,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Degeneration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degeneration. Accessed 16 Nov. 2025.
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