Degenerating

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Degenerate \De*gen"er*ate\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Degenerated};
     p. pr. & vb. n. {Degenerating}.]
     1. To be or grow worse than one's kind, or than one was
        originally; hence, to be inferior; to grow poorer, meaner,
        or more vicious; to decline in good qualities; to
        deteriorate.


        [1913 Webster]
  
              When wit transgresseth decency, it degenerates into
              insolence and impiety.                --Tillotson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. (Biol.) To fall off from the normal quality or the healthy
        structure of its kind; to become of a lower type.
        [1913 Webster]