degeneration

See also: Degeneration and dégénération

English

Etymology

From French dégénération, from Latin dēgenerātiō.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /dɪˌdʒɛnəˈɹeɪʃən/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -eɪʃən
• Hyphenation: de‧gen‧er‧ation

Noun

degeneration (usually uncountable, plural degenerations)

1. (uncountable, countable) 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.

   • 1987, Suomalainen Tiedeakatemia, Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, page 10:

     Hence, regional soil degenerations and podsolization was probably an important factor contributing to the retrogressive change in the forest composition at the end of the mesocratic phase..

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.
   • 1650, Thomas Browne, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC:

     cockle, aracus, […] and other degenerations

Synonyms

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

Derived terms

• hepatolenticular degeneration
• hyaline degeneration
• macular degeneration
• neurodegeneration
• Wallerian degeneration

 

Related terms

• degenerate
• degenerative

Translations

process or state of growing worse

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

  Mandarin: 惡化／恶化 (zh) (èhuà), 退行 (zh) (tuìxíng) (pathology)

• Danish: degeneration c, forfald (da) n
• Finnish: rappeutuminen
• Galician: dexeneración (gl) f
• German: Entartung (de) f
• Hebrew: החמרה
• Hungarian: elkorcsosulás (hu), degeneráltság (hu)
• Irish: meathlú m
• Italian: degenerazione (it) f
• Japanese: 悪化 (ja) (あっか, akka)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: degenerasjon m

  Nynorsk: degenerasjon m

• Polish: zwyrodnienie, degeneracja (pl)
• 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 (hu)
• Italian: degenerazione (it) f
• Japanese: 退化 (ja) (たいか, taika)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: degenerasjon m

  Nynorsk: degenerasjon m

• Polish: degeneracja (pl)
• 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

• Polish: zwyrodnienie n
• 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
• 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

• Hebrew: ^{(please verify)} התנוונות f (hitnavnut) (1,2,3)

Danish

Noun

degeneration c (singular definite degenerationen, not used in plural form)

1. degeneration

Declension

Declension of degeneration

common gender	Singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	degeneration	degenerationen
genitive	degenerations	degenerationens

Further reading

• “degeneration” in Den Danske Ordbog

Swedish

Noun

degeneration c

1. degeneration

Declension

Declension of degeneration
	Uncountable
	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	degeneration	degenerationen	—	—
Genitive	degenerations	degenerationens	—	—

Further reading

• degeneration in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• degeneration in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• degeneration in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)