Meanings
noundegeneration (usually uncountable, plural degenerations)
plural degenerations
- countableuncountableusuallyThe process or state of growing worse, or the state of having become worse.
The modern cry of "more liberty and less creed" is a degeneration from a vertebrate to a jellyfish.
1913, B. H. Carrol, An Interpretation of the English Bible2 more examples
Hence, regional soil degenerations and podsolization was probably an important factor contributing to the retrogressive change in the forest composition at the end of the mesocratic phase..
1987, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, page 10Emmanuel Macron sounded like a man in grief. Not angry, not defiant, just a little triste. Europe, he lamented, was suffering a “degeneration of democracy”.
2025 October 12, Simon Tisdall, quoting Emmanuel Macron, “France is not alone in its crisis of political faith – belief in a democratic world is vanishing”, in The Guardian, →ISSNSynonyms: decadence, decline, degradation, debasement, degeneracy, deterioration
- uncountableusuallyThat condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become either diminished or perverted; a substitution of a lower for a higher form of structure.
fatty degeneration of the liver
- uncountableusuallyGradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants or any particular organ or organs; hereditary degradation of type.
- countableusuallyA thing that has degenerated.
cockle, aracus, […] and other degenerations
1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe process or state of growing worse, or the state of having become worse.
Similar
More synonyms by meaning
nounthe process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality
Similar
Broader
processphysical process
nounthe state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities
Similar
nounpassing from a more complex to a simpler biological form
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Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latindēgenerātiō
- Frenchdégénération
- Englishdegeneration
From French dégénération, from Latin dēgenerātiō.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian израждане, дегенера́ция
- израждане (izraždane)process or state of growing worse
- дегенера́ция (degenerácija)condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
Catalan degeneració, degeneració
- degeneracióprocess or state of growing worse
- degeneraciócondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
Chinese Mandarin 惡化 /恶化, 退行
- 惡化 /恶化 (èhuà)process or state of growing worse
- 退行 (tuìxíng)process or state of growing worse
- 退化 (tuìhuà)condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
Danish degeneration, forfald
- degenerationprocess or state of growing worse
- forfaldprocess or state of growing worse
- degenerationcondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- degenerationgradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Finnish rappeutuminen, rappeuma
- rappeutuminenprocess or state of growing worse
- rappeumacondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- degeneraatiogradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
- rappeutuminengradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
- rappeumasomething degenerated
French dégénérescence, dégénération
- dégénérescencecondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- dégénérationcondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- dégénérescencegradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
- dégénérationgradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
German Entartung, Degeneration
- Entartungprocess or state of growing worse
- Degenerationcondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
Hebrew החמרה, דגנרציה
- החמרהprocess or state of growing worse
- דגנרציהcondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- התנוונותgradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Hindi अपघटन, अपघटन
- अपघटन (apaghṭan)condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- अपघटन (apaghṭan)gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Hungarian elkorcsosulás, degeneráltság
- elkorcsosulásprocess or state of growing worse
- degeneráltságprocess or state of growing worse
- elfajuláscondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- degenerációcondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- hanyatlásgradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Irish meathlú
- meathlúprocess or state of growing worse
Italian degenerazione, degenerazione
- degenerazioneprocess or state of growing worse
- degenerazionecondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
Japanese 悪化, 退化
- 悪化 (akka)process or state of growing worse
- 退化 (taika)condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
Norwegian Bokmål degenerasjon, degenerasjon
- degenerasjonprocess or state of growing worse
- degenerasjoncondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- degenerasjongradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Polish zwyrodnienie, degeneracja
- zwyrodnienieprocess or state of growing worse
- degeneracjaprocess or state of growing worse
- degeneracjacondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- zwyrodnieniegradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Portuguese degeneração, degeneração
- degeneraçãoprocess or state of growing worse
- degeneraçãocondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- degeneraçãogradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Romanian degenerare, degradare
- degenerareprocess or state of growing worse
- degradareprocess or state of growing worse
- degenerăriprocess or state of growing worse
- degenerarecondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- degeneraregradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Russian вырожде́ние, упа́док
- вырожде́ние (vyroždénije)process or state of growing worse
- упа́док (upádok)process or state of growing worse
- дегенера́ция (degenerácija)condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- вырожде́ние (vyroždénije)gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
- дегенера́ция (degenerácija)gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
Spanish degeneración, degeneración
- degeneraciónprocess or state of growing worse
- degeneracióncondition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished
- degeneracióngradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants
- degeneraciónsomething degenerated
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with degeneration
informationeducationlocationapplicationassociationadministrationorganizationcorporationregistrationAsianfoundationcommunicationpopulationnavigationstationaccommodationoperationpublicationvacationtransportationevaluationimplementationinstallationnation
All rhymes →Cite this entry
APA
degeneration. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/degeneration
MLA
“degeneration.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/degeneration. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “degeneration,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/degeneration.
Source: degeneration on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.