degeneration

See also: Degeneration

English

Etymology

(deprecated template usage) From French dégénération, from Latin dēgenerātiō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɪˌdʒɛnəˈɹeɪʃən/
• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: de‧gen‧er‧ation

Noun

degeneration (usually uncountable, plural degenerations)

1. (uncountable) The process or state of growing worse, or the state of having become worse.
   • 1913, B. H. Carrol, An Interpretation of the English Bible:

     The modern cry of "more liberty and less creed" is a degeneration from a vertebrate to a jellyfish.

2. (uncountable) That 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

3. (uncountable) Gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants or any particular organ or organs; hereditary degradation of type.
4. (countable) A thing that has degenerated.
   • Sir Thomas Browne

     cockle, aracus, […] and other degenerations

Synonyms

• (process or state of growing worse): decline, degradation, debasement, degeneracy, deterioration
• (gaming slang): nerf

Related terms

• degenerate

Translations

process or state of growing worse

• Bulgarian: израждане (bg) n (izraždane)
• Catalan: degeneració f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 惡化／恶化 (zh) (èhuà), 恶化 (zh) (èhuà)

• Danish: degeneration c, forfald (da) n
• Finnish: rappeutuminen, taantuminen (fi)
• Galician: dexeneración (gl) f
• German: Entartung (de) f
• Hebrew: החמרה
• Hungarian: elkorcsosulás (hu), degeneráltság
• Irish: meathlú m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: degenerazione (it) f
• Japanese: 悪化 (ja) (あっか, akka)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: degenerasjon m

  Nynorsk: degenerasjon m

• Portuguese: degeneração (pt) f
• Romanian: degenerare (ro) f, degradare (ro) f, degenerări f pl
• Russian: вырожде́ние (ru) n (vyroždénije), упа́док (ru) m (upádok)
• Spanish: degeneración (es) f

condition of a tissue or an organ in which its vitality has become diminished

• Bulgarian: дегенера́ция (bg) f (degenerácija)
• Catalan: degeneració f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 退化 (zh) (tuìhuà)

• Danish: degeneration c
• Finnish: rappeuma
• French: dégénérescence (fr) f, dégénération (fr) f
• Galician: dexeneración (gl) f
• German: Degeneration (de) f
• Hebrew: דגנרציה (he) f
• Hungarian: elfajulás
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: degenerazione (it) f
• Japanese: 退化 (ja) (たいか, taika)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: degenerasjon m

  Nynorsk: degenerasjon m

• Portuguese: degeneração (pt) f
• Romanian: degenerare (ro) f
• Russian: дегенера́ция (ru) f (degenerácija)
• Spanish: degeneración (es) f

gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants

• Danish: degeneration c
• Finnish: degeneraatio (fi), rappeutuminen
• French: dégénérescence (fr) f, dégénération (fr) f
• Galician: dexeneración (gl) f
• Hebrew: התנוונות
• Hungarian: hanyatlás (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: degenerasjon m

  Nynorsk: degenerasjon m

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: degeneração (pt) f
• Romanian: degenerare (ro) f
• Russian: вырожде́ние (ru) n (vyroždénije), дегенера́ция (ru) f (degenerácija)
• Spanish: degeneración (es) f

something degenerated

• Finnish: rappeuma
• Galician: dexeneración (gl) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: degeneración (es) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} התנוונות f (hitnavnut) (1,2,3)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}