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dégénérer

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: degenerer

French

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Etymology

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(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /de.ʒe.ne.ʁe/
  • Audio:(file)

Verb

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dégénérer

  1. to degenerate
  2. (intransitive) to take a turn for the worse, to go south
    Synonym: partir en couille
    La situation va dégénérer si ça continue comme ça.The situation's gonna go downhill if it continues like this.

Conjugation

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This verb is conjugated like céder. It is a regular -er verb, except that its last stem vowel alternates between /e/ (written 'é') and /ɛ/ (written 'è'), with the latter being used before mute 'e'. One special case is the future stem, used in the future and the conditional. Before 1990, the future stem of such verbs was written dégénérer-, reflecting the historic pronunciation /e/. In 1990, the French Academy recommended that it be written dégénèrer-, reflecting the now common pronunciation /ɛ/, thereby making this distinction consistent throughout the conjugation (and also matching in this regard the conjugations of verbs like lever and jeter). Both spellings are in use today, and both are therefore given here.

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Further reading

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