1
as in degradation
a change to a lower state or level
the sad degeneracy of the old neighborhood into a slum
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in corruption
a sinking to a state of low moral standards and behavior
the degeneracy of the family into a gang of petty thieves
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of degeneracy
This uncertainty, called mass–distance degeneracy, meant that earlier detections could not rule out heavier objects such as brown dwarfs.
—
Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 Jan. 2026
Crucially, white dwarfs support themselves against collapse through something called electron degeneracy pressure, in which a huge sea of free-floating electrons resists collapse because, according to quantum mechanics, electrons can never share the same state.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2025
Reformers seized on this as both a public-health and a moral crisis; for many Progressives, dirt itself was a sign of degeneracy.
—Jacob Beckert, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2025
Why subject your kids to degeneracy and violence?
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degeneracy
Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 3 Jan. 2026
Crucially, white dwarfs support themselves against collapse through something called electron degeneracy pressure, in which a huge sea of free-floating electrons resists collapse because, according to quantum mechanics, electrons can never share the same state.
—Paul Sutter, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2025
Reformers seized on this as both a public-health and a moral crisis; for many Progressives, dirt itself was a sign of degeneracy.
—Jacob Beckert, The Atlantic, 13 Nov. 2025
Why subject your kids to degeneracy and violence?
—Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 10 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for degeneracy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for degeneracy
Noun
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The development solves the long-standing issues of material degradation and leakage (crossover) by re-engineering the iron complex at the molecular level.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Dark glass bottles protect the oil from light degradation, which breaks down the compounds responsible for those benefits.—
Allison Palmer,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
24 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Years later, drawn into a covert network of operatives and manipulated through a web of corruption, Clay must decide whether to become the weapon he was shaped to be or dismantle the system from within.—
Alex Ritman,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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He was also charged in another foreign corruption case in the same court in late 2024.—
Jay Weaver,
Miami Herald,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Over the last decade, the parish began to lose these buildings to age, mold and deterioration.—
Desiree Mathurin
April 28,
Charlotte Observer,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The Swiss Eugen Bleuler, a follower of Kraepelin, replaced the term dementia praecox, which implied hopeless deterioration, with the softer term schizophrenia.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The declinations came as the DOJ reassigned and cut prosecutors working on environmental cases.—
Ken B. Morales,
ProPublica,
31 Mar. 2026
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Federal regulations require special counsels to provide the attorney general with a report that explain prosecution or declination decisions once their work is concluded.—
Jacob Rosen,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The in-flight tests yielded a substantial decline in soot and ice with 100 percent SAF.—
Srishti Gupta,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Apr. 2026
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Correction-level declines occurred in 71% of those years, versus only 44% in other years.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
29 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Just as significantly, the group broke down racial barriers in the 1960s, when the sight of three young women of Puerto Rican and Black descent singing pop music on television and opening concerts for the Beatles was a rarity.—
Chris Morris,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Gonzalez is of Cuban descent, bald, with a brown beard and mustache.—
Garfield Hylton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Double the chocolate, double the decadence.—
Patricia S York,
Southern Living,
21 Apr. 2026
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By putting religious and profane art together—a picture of Christ on one wall and Apollo on another, both equalized in their prettiness—Raphael triggered centuries of decadence.—
Zachary Fine,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Degeneracy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degeneracy. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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