degenerate

/dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt/

//dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"degenerate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“degenerate” has 14 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #18,802. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#18,802
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
14
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to undesirable and typically abnormal.

Corpus desk

Index EN-degenerate · degenerate · English

degenerate · rank #18,802 · 14 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #18,802
  • LEN-MEGA 10 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 14 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH deficient

Nearest frequency peer: deficient (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “degenerate”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “degenerate” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

degenerate vs degenerative
83% similar
degenerate vs degeneracy
80% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for degenerate
PropertyValue
Headworddegenerate
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt/
Letters10
Frequency rank#18,802
Misspellings tracked14
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “degenerate”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).degeneratelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “deficient” (#18,801), “demonic” (#18,803), “dashboard” (#18,800). Among 3,470 “D” headwords, “degenerate” is #18,802. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 14 spelling variants around degenerate (IPA /dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #18,802 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 7 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 14 likely wrong-spelling variants for degenerate, with forms such as "ddegenerate", "deegnerate", and "degeenrate". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "degenerative", "degeneracy", since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Learned borrowing from Latin dēgenerātus. See -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. The correct English form is degenerate, spelled D-E-G-E-N-E-R-A-T-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    Having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to undesirable and typically abnormal.
  2. 2
    Having lost good or desirable qualities; hence also having bad character or habits, base, immoral, corrupt. ABR
  3. 3
    Having lost functionality in general.
  4. 4
    Having multiple domain elements correspond to one element of the range.
  5. 5
    Qualitatively different, usually simpler, than typical objects of its class.
  6. 6
    Having multiple different (linearly independent) eigenvectors.
  7. 7
    Having the same quantum energy level.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how degenerate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. faint-hearted and degenerate king
  2. But what can Cato do Againſt a World, a baſe degenerate World, That courts the Yoke, and bows the Neck to Cæſar?

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin dēgenerātus. See -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more.

This word in other languages

degenerado(Español)dégradé(Français)entartet(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddegenerate
  • deegnerate
  • degeenrate
  • degenearte
  • degeneraet
  • degeneratte
  • degenerrate
  • degenertae
  • degennerate
  • degenreate
  • deggenerate
  • degneerate
  • dgeenerate
  • edgenerate

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of degenerate - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ddegenerate1deegnerate2degeenrate2degenearte2degeneraet2degeneratte1degenerrate1degenertae2
Edit distance from "degenerate"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "degenerate"?
"degenerate" is spelled D-E-G-E-N-E-R-A-T-E. The IPA pronunciation is /dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt/.
What does "degenerate" mean?
As an adjective, "degenerate" means: Having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to undesirable and typically abnormal.
What words are commonly confused with "degenerate"?
"degenerate" is commonly confused with "degenerative", "degeneracy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "degenerate"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "degenerate" is /dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "degenerate"?
Learned borrowing from Latin dēgenerātus. See -ate (adjective-forming suffix) for more. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "degenerate", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

assembling#18,760alteration#18,754visitation#18,731undeniable#18,726

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (14 here; floor ≥5).

dashboard14 variantsexcursion14 variantshairstyle14 variantsinformant14 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list