What does "degeneration" mean?

The process or state of growing worse, or the state of having become worse.

What is a synonym for "degeneration"?

Common synonyms include: abandon, abandonment, abjection, about face, about-face, accommodation.

noun

noun ·5 syllables ·Common ·High school level

Noun

1
The process or state of growing worse, or the state of having become worse. countable, uncountable, usually
"The modern cry of "more liberty and less creed" is a degeneration from a vertebrate to a jellyfish."
2
passing from a more complex to a simpler biological form wordnet
3
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. uncountable, usually
"fatty degeneration of the liver"
4
the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality wordnet
5
Gradual deterioration, from natural causes, of any class of animals or plants or any particular organ or organs; hereditary degradation of type. uncountable, usually

Show 2 more definitions

6
the state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities wordnet
7
A thing that has degenerated. countable, usually
"cockle, aracus, […] and other degenerations"

"Age-related macular degeneration can cause blindness."

From French dégénération, from Latin dēgenerātiō.