Dictionary
de•gen•er•ate
Pronunciation: (
—v.di-jen'u-rāt";
—adj., n.di-jen'ur-it), [key]
—v., -at•ed, -at•ing,
—adj., n.
—
v.i.
1. to fall below a normal or desirable level in physical, mental, or moral qualities; deteriorate:
The morale of the soldiers degenerated, and they were unable to fight.
2. to diminish in quality, esp. from a former state of coherence, balance, integrity, etc.:
The debate degenerated into an exchange of insults.
3. Pathol.to lose functional activity, as a tissue or organ.
4. Evolution.(of a species or any of its traits or structures) to revert to a simple, less highly organized, or less functionally active type, as a parasitic plant that has lost its taproot or the vestigial wings of a flightless bird.
—
v.t.
to cause degeneration in; bring about a decline, deterioration, or reversion in.
—
adj.
1. having fallen below a normal or desirable level, esp. in physical or moral qualities; deteriorated; degraded:
a degenerate king.
2. having lost, or become impaired with respect to, the qualities proper to the race or kind:
a degenerate vine.
3. characterized by or associated with degeneracy:
degenerate times.
4. Math.pertaining to a limiting case of a mathematical system that is more symmetrical or simpler in form than the general case.
5. Physics.
a. (of modes of vibration of a system) having the same frequency.
b. (of quantum states of a system) having equal energy.
—
n.
1. a person who has declined, as in morals or character, from a type or standard considered normal.
2. a person or thing that reverts to an earlier stage of culture, development, or evolution.
3. a sexual deviate.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
