degenerate
de·ge·ne·rate
noun
1.
a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior
adjective
1.
unrestrained by convention or morality
- “Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society”
- “deplorably dissipated and degraded”
- “riotous living”
- “fast women”
verb
1.
- “Her condition deteriorated”
- “Conditions in the slums degenerated”
- “The discussion devolved into a shouting match”
Origin
From Latin degenerō + -ate (verb-forming suffix). Compare Italian degenerare, French dégénérer (and its older (and now obsolete) English cognate from Middle French, degener). By surface analysis, de- + generate.
Phrases
- degenerate conic
- degenerate matrix
- degenerate matter
- neutron-degenerate matter
Related words
Word family
WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.