as in degenerate
having lost forcefulness, courage, or spirit
he felt rather washed-up after this latest business failure
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of washed-up
The film, about a group of revolutionaries who reunite to help one of their own — Bob Ferguson, a washed-up, paranoid stoner — rescue his daughter from their longtime enemy, has a lot to say about our fraught, divisive reality.
—
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Sep. 2025
Advertisement This is what happened last year when their most significant trade-deadline pickup was washed-up pitcher Lance Lynn, or the year before when their major summer acquisition was strikeout-prone outfielder Joey Gallo.
Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw returns to the Dodgers.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024
Forget washed-up — Escola might not yet be a widely recognizable name, but the 37-year-old is on track to become one of the most original and influential voices in the alternative comedy scene.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2024
Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 27 Sep. 2025
Advertisement This is what happened last year when their most significant trade-deadline pickup was washed-up pitcher Lance Lynn, or the year before when their major summer acquisition was strikeout-prone outfielder Joey Gallo.
Dodgers
Clayton Kershaw returns to the Dodgers.
—Dylan Hernández, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024
Forget washed-up — Escola might not yet be a widely recognizable name, but the 37-year-old is on track to become one of the most original and influential voices in the alternative comedy scene.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 6 Feb. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for washed-up
Adjective
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Like people, joints naturally degenerate over time, and arthritis is particularly common in older pets.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
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In his native Germany, he was reviled by the Nazis as a degenerate artist.—
Celia Bell
July 22,
Literary Hub,
22 July 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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What has changed is that higher ed itself is arguably weaker than ever.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
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In fact, weather models vary widely on how strong Lorenzo could get in the coming days, ranging from a weak tropical storm to a Category 2 hurricane, the hurricane center said.—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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At its proudly overripe heart, the series is a gothic domestic soap—Lifetime themes gussied up in Southern finery.—
Inkoo Kang,
The New Yorker,
31 Oct. 2022
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But at the end of 2021, S&P profits already looked overripe.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
13 Oct. 2022
Adjective
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Lattice’s resilient mesh network ensures that EagleEye remains functional in degraded or jammed environments.—
Kapil Kajal,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Oct. 2025
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Here, settler colonialism is understood as a form of environmental injustice, where pollution and degraded landscapes diminish Indigenous quality of life and ability to be in right relationship with the environment.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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What we’re left with is an effete description that exists for itself and doesn’t illuminate the character.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
29 Aug. 2025
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Cutaways to bits involving sad-sack local cop Maccarico (Marco Bonadei) interviewing kooky characters like an effete server (Milutin Dapcevic) at Taco King and Oreste getting a dressing down from his ex-wife, Arabella’s Mother (Margareth Made), just feel like mildly amusing filler.—
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Imagine crumbling a slice into a glass of frothed milk and espresso, or layering it with a scoop of ice cream for a decadent twist; the possibilities are endless.—
Elizabeth Fogarty,
Better Homes & Gardens,
17 Oct. 2025
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Adding a milk frother to your coffee accessories arsenal is the difference between a standard cup of coffee and something decadent.—
Yelena Moroz Alpert,
Architectural Digest,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Washed-up.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/washed-up. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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