Skip to content

degenerate

/dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt/noun, verb, adjective4 syllables

Degenerate means: unrestrained by convention or morality.

Synonyms for degenerate17

noun, as in a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior

pervert, deviant, deviate, perv, perve

verb, as in grow progressively worse

devolve, deteriorate, drop

adjective, as in unrestrained by convention or morality

debauched, degraded, dissipated, dissolute, libertine, profligate, riotous, fast, immoral

What does degenerate mean?3

adjective

1

unrestrained by convention or morality“Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society”

noun

1

a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior

verb

1

grow progressively worse“Her condition deteriorated”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Degenerate in a sentence

  • There remain great fears of seeing the clashes degenerate into massacres.Paron
  • Live can so easily degenerate into something sordid and vulgar.nolongerhuman
  • Cultures in which people refuse to sing in their own language are degenerate cultures.DJ_Saidez
  • We never ought to allow our instincts of justice to degenerate into mere vindictiveness.Cangarejo
  • Though my uncle is homeless, I don't think he is a degenerate.orcrist
  • Don't allow your muscles to degenerate.AlanF_US
  • Standards of art are slowly degenerate.IMer

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.

Forms of degenerate

as a noun

plural
degenerates

as a verb

past tense
degenerated
present participle
degenerating
third-person singular
degenerates
past participle
degenerated