degenerative
/dɪˈdʒɛn(ə)ɹətɪv/adjective
degenerative is spelled D-E-G-E-N-E-R-A-T-I-V-E: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, degenerative means “Characterized by or causing degeneration” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in degenerative?
| Letters | 12: D-E-G-E-N-E-R-A-T-I-V-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,556th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is degenerative?
Degenerative appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,556th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce degenerative?
- UK /dɪˈdʒɛn(ə)ɹətɪv/
Degenerative has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-degenerative.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of degenerative
- more degenerative comparative
- most degenerative superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does degenerative mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterized by or causing degeneration.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Degenerative in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense characterized by or causing degeneration:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dégénératif |
| German | degenerativ |
| Portuguese | degenerativo |
| Spanish | degenerativo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does degenerative come from?
From degenerate + -ive.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).