DEGENERATED Synonyms: 109 Similar and Opposite Words

degenerated 1 of 2

adjective

as in deteriorated

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

degenerated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of degenerate

as in worsened

to become worse or of less value over the years the community-minded organization degenerated into a club for loafers

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of degenerated

Verb

These days, oversight hearings have degenerated into partisan brawls. — David Wippman, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2026 Fay degenerated on Tuesday, but by Thursday afternoon was once again a strengthening tropical storm with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph, moving west at 6 mph in the central Atlantic, according to the hurricane center. — Robin Webb, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026 The Philadelphia Eagles drastically overhauled their playbook after their offense degenerated in 2025, and the technical and philosophical changes Hurts must master demand a departure from the comfort zones of past systems. — Brooks Kubena, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2026 Now, Artnet News reports that her troubles have compounded, with the loss of a seven-acre house in the Hamptons, sold in a sidewalk foreclosure auction that quickly degenerated as police were called to intervene. — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 8 Sep. 2026 In the Atlantic Ocean, former Tropical Storm Cristobal weakened and degenerated into a post-tropical remnant low on Thursday, the center said. — ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026 Macron’s highest aspirations to, as a modern Talleyrand, inject himself and solve global issues such as Ukraine, Africa’s Sahel, Syria, Lebanon, or Iran have fallen short, degenerated into petty feuds, or backfired. — Wesley Alexander Hill, Forbes.com, 22 May 2026 Last fall, a Krousty Sabaïdi giveaway promoted by popular French influencer Fares Salvatore, who has more than 868,000 followers on TikTok, degenerated into mayhem when the call-out attracted 3,000 teenagers. — Vivian Song, CNN Money, 3 Apr. 2026 Murderous encounters dating to the Risdon Cove settlement eventually degenerated into the Black War (1804–30), a period of great physical conflict between the Aboriginal population and European settlers. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 19 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for degenerated

Adjective

Clark said the supports are needed because equipment used in the investigation is too heavy and difficult to maneuver safely on the deteriorated floor.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 14 July 2026
According to the officer, the decision to classify Sands' death as such was the result of the deteriorated condition of his body.

— Nicole Briese, PEOPLE, 27 June 2026

Definition of deteriorated

Verb

Insecurity, which has worsened around the country, is also set to figure as a major point of contention.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Mike McDaniel’s implementation of his wide-zone offense hasn’t gone well, and the situation has worsened as injuries along the offensive line have piled up.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of worsened

Verb

Long Beach Powerful waves crumbled large sections of the boardwalk on the Long Beach Peninsula and left several homes with severe structural damage.

— Hannah Fry, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
As recruiting migrates from Friday Night Lights to the transfer portal, that old infrastructure has crumbled.

— Chris Park, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2026

Definition of crumbled

Adjective

To break the chains of infections stemming from contaminated needles, Soqo has proposed supplying thousands of sterile needles and syringes to communities of methamphetamine users.

— David Cox, NPR, 26 Sep. 2026
After our investigation, my colleagues and I published a paper describing the anthrax cases from contaminated mail.

— Daniel Jernigan, STAT, 26 Sep. 2026

Definition of contaminated

Verb

Dozens of federal agents descended on Omar Alexander Muñoz's residential cul-de-sac in Commerce, a small city in Los Angeles County, to make the arrest.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 20 Oct. 2026
Advertisement Within minutes, the festival grounds descended into chaos.

— Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of descended

Adjective

One of the singular features of Baotou, an industrial city of 2 million people in Inner Mongolia, is a 10-square-kilometer (4-square-mile) lake that is among the most polluted in the world.

— Glenn Zorpette, IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2026
Lahn, who was endorsed early in his primary by political committee MAHA Action, has diverged from many of his Republican peers in directly linking polluted water and agrochemicals to Iowa’s cancer crisis.

— ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of polluted

Browse Nearby Words

degenerate

degenerated

degenerately

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Degenerated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/degenerated. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of degenerated

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

jilt

Popular in Grammar & Usage

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Games & Quizzes