degenerate

Adjective

degenerate (comparative more degenerate, superlative most degenerate)

1. Having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to undesirable and typically abnormal.
2. Having lost good or desirable qualities; hence also having bad character or habits, base, immoral, corrupt.
   • Farwell faint-hearted and degenerate King, / In whose cold blood no sparke of Honor bides.c. 1591–1592 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Third Part of Henry the Sixt, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
   • But what can Cato do
     Againſt a World, a baſe degenerate World,
     That courts the Yoke, and bows the Neck to Cæſar?1712 (date written), [Joseph] Addison, Cato, a Tragedy. […], London: […] J[acob] Tonson, […], published 1713, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, page 2
3. Having lost functionality in general.
   • It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally...2013 March, Harold J. Morowitz, “The Smallest Cell”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 04 Jan 2017, page 83
4. Having multiple domain elements correspond to one element of the range.
   • The genetic code is degenerate because a single amino acid can be coded by one of several codons.
5. Qualitatively different, usually simpler, than typical objects of its class.
   • A degenerate circle, having radius zero, consists of a single point.
   • We now apply the geometrical construction explained in the appendix to the degenerate triangle ABC.1921, A. Hay, “Phase Transformation and Phase Balancing”, in Journal of the Indian Institute of Science, volume 4, page 102
6. Having multiple different (linearly independent) eigenvectors.
7. Having the same quantum energy level.

Noun

degenerate (plural degenerates)

1. One who is degenerate, who has fallen from previous stature; an immoral or corrupt person.
   • In the cult of degenerates, acts of decency, kindness and modesty could be seen as acts of apostasy.
   • The undeveloped or mysterically confused thought which exists in savages is fully exemplified in the childish or crazy atavistic anthropomorphism and symbolism so prevalent among degenerates.1911 May, “Insanity and the Art of the Borderland”, in The International Studio, volume 32, number 171, page 32

Verb

IPA/dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹeɪt/

degenerate (third-person singular simple present degenerates, present participle degenerating, simple past and past participle degenerated)

1. (intransitive) To lose good or desirable qualities.
   • His condition continued to degenerate even after admission to hospital.
   • Another bird quickly learned to imitate the song of a canary that was mated with it, but as the parrakeet improved in the performance the canary degenerated, and came at last to mingle the other bird's harsh chitterings with its own proper music.1870, Shirley Hibberd, Rustic Adornments for Homes of Taste, page 170
2. (transitive) To cause to lose good or desirable qualities.