# degenerate

> English word · Adjective · IPA /dɪˈd͡ʒɛnəɹɪt/ · frequency rank #18,802

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

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

## Easily confused with
- **degenerative** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/degenerate-vs-degenerative)
- **degeneracy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/degeneracy-vs-degenerate)

## Common misspellings (14)
`ddegenerate`, `deegnerate`, `degeenrate`, `degenearte`, `degeneraet`, `degeneratte`, `degenerrate`, `degenertae`, `degennerate`, `degenreate`, `deggenerate`, `degneerate`, `dgeenerate`, `edgenerate`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/degenerate