adj 1 a  :  having declined (as in nature, character, structure, or function) from an ancestral or former state : esp  :  having deteriorated progressively (as in the process of evolution) esp. through loss of structure and function  b  :  having sunk to a lower and usu. corrupt and vicious state  2  :  having more than one codon representing an amino acid : also  :  being such a codon
, vi, -at*ed  -at*ing  1  :  to sink into a low intellectual or moral state  2  :  to decline from a former thriving state or from standards proper to a species or race <all through the evolution of life many forms have degenerated, losing their relative autonomy and becoming dependent parasites upon other creatures -Curt Stern>   3  :  to evolve or develop into a less functionally active form <the digestive system degenerated> 
n :  one that is degenerate: as  a  :  one degraded from the normal moral standard  b  :  a sexual pervert .
 
 
 
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