degenerate
Definitions
To decline or deteriorate into a worse, lower or less functional state
退化，恶化，堕落
Having sunk to a low moral or physical state; corrupt
堕落的，败坏的；退化的
A person regarded as morally or physically degraded
堕落者，道德败坏的人
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedde- (down, away from) + gener (kind, race — from genus) + -ate. Latin degenerare meant 'to fall away from one's race/stock' — to no longer live up to the family you were born into. From this 'falling from your kind' came the modern sense: to decline, decay, or sink into corruption.
Root gen still carries 140 more wordsWhy It Means This
The key image is genus = the stock you come from. To de-generate is to fall below it — a noble line producing unworthy heirs, a healthy tissue decaying, a calm debate sliding into a shouting match ('the meeting degenerated into chaos'). The word judges by comparison with a better original state.
Usage Guide
Stress and final vowel shift with part of speech: the verb is de-GEN-er-ATE (-ate rhymes with 'late'); the adjective and noun are de-GEN-er-it (-ate reduced to /-ət/). Very common in 'degenerate into + [worse thing].'
Example Sentences
- 1.
Without rules, the discussion quickly degenerated into a shouting match.
- 2.
The disease causes muscle tissue to degenerate over time.
- 3.
Critics dismissed the novel's characters as moral degenerates.