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Synonym Chooser

How does the noun deterioration differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of deterioration are decadence, decline, and degeneration. While all these words mean "the falling from a higher to a lower level in quality, character, or vitality," deterioration implies generally the impairment of value or usefulness.

the deterioration of the house through neglect

When can decadence be used instead of deterioration?

In some situations, the words decadence and deterioration are roughly equivalent. However, decadence presupposes a reaching and passing the peak of development and implies a turn downward with a consequent loss in vitality or energy.

cited love of luxury as a sign of cultural decadence

How do decline and decadence relate to one another, in the sense of deterioration?

Decline differs from decadence in suggesting a more markedly downward direction and greater momentum as well as more obvious evidence of deterioration.

the meteoric decline of his career after the scandal

When could degeneration be used to replace deterioration?

The words degeneration and deterioration are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, degeneration stresses physical, intellectual, or especially moral retrogression.

the degeneration of their youthful idealism into cynicism

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 deterioration Americans have this year grappled with elevated inflation, as well as a deterioration of the job market and a broader weakening of the nation’s economic outlook. Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025 The median age of survival since 1970 is 29 years and, while there is no cure and physical deterioration is inevitable, advancements in care have lengthened life expectancy. Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025 The authors found that these six metrics of the planet's health are facing increasing pressures, suggesting that further deterioration and destabilization of the Earth's health could come soon. Abc Climate Unit, ABC News, 7 Oct. 2025 Local air quality officials warned that the fire could cause a deterioration in air quality in the immediate vicinity afterward. Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 3 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for deterioration
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deterioration
Noun
  • Columbus’s historic journey to the Caribbean occurred amid significant changes in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, including the exploration of the Canary Islands and Cape Verde, the weakening of Islam, and the rise of Christianity in the form of Catholicism.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
  • That was obviously the weakening of your internal khozayka.
    Julia Ioffe, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The team believes their approach could eventually help regions struggling with industrial contamination and agricultural degradation.
    Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Housing materials in artistic practice are fitting for an environment that is constantly under simultaneous construction and degradation, with sea levels continuing to rise, potholes throughout the city and as our own infrastructure buckles under the weight of an ever growing population.
    Mario Rodriguez, Miami Herald, 23 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Despite years of legal battles over the relocations, more than 150,000 bodies were exhumed from the 1920s to the early 1940s for the trip to Colma, each in various stages of decay.
    Chris Kenning, USA Today, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Why didn’t evolution produce a more dependable version of the human body, less prone to malfunction and decay?
    Lucinda Rosenfeld, New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Since 1928, significant market declines of at least 5% have happened in 92 out of 98 years.
    Preston Fore, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025
  • One of the most popular college majors is seeing a significant decline in graduates, according to a new report from AEI.
    Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • For the study, Ruotsalainen measured the Q values of two double-beta decaying and one beta-decaying nucleus.
    Georgina Jedikovska, Interesting Engineering, 8 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • 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
  • On those three dates, variations in the moon's position relative to Earth's equator — particularly its declination — can influence tidal forces that subtly affect Earth's rotation rate.
    Jamie Carter, Space.com, 5 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Deterioration.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deterioration. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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