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degenerative

[ dih-jen-er-uh-tiv, -uh-rey-tiv ]

/ dɪˈdʒɛn ər ə tɪv, -əˌreɪ tɪv /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR degenerative ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

tending to degenerate.

characterized by degeneration.

Origin of degenerative

First recorded in 1840–50; degenerate + -ive

OTHER WORDS FROM degenerative

non·de·gen·er·a·tive, adjective un·de·gen·er·a·tive, adjective

Words nearby degenerative

degeneracy pressure, degenerate, degenerate matter, degenerate state, degeneration, degenerative, degenerative joint disease, degerm, degerminate, deglaciation, deglamorize

Example sentences from the Web for degenerative

In this degenerative illness, patients lose the function of the left half of their brain.

Jonah Lehrer’s Imagine Explores Creativity for Capitalists |Casey Schwartz |March 15, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
I learned that he had a degenerative disease and might not live long enough even to finish his Ph.D. degree.

Stephen Hawking 70th-Birthday Salute |Martin Rees |January 8, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
The cop had read a newspaper story about Lanza, and had a teenage son who was slowly going blind from a degenerative eye disease.

Saving Sight, Testing Faith |Sharon Begley |May 16, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
He was elevated by hope for an antidote to what felt like a toxic, degenerative condition.

The Zero-Sacrifice Presidency |Lee Siegel |December 4, 2009 |DAILY BEAST

Neuropathic or degenerative conditions sometimes serve to accentuate or reveal ancestral traits that are very ancient in the race.

Studies in the Psychology of Sex, Volume 3 (of 6) |Havelock Ellis
That the patient can be classed as one having a degenerative soil is not at all certain in this case.

Studies in Forensic Psychiatry |Bernard Glueck
Let us now endeavor to illustrate what he means by this degenerative soil giving rise to these psychoses.

Studies in Forensic Psychiatry |Bernard Glueck
To avoid other complications he chose female drunkards in whom no other degenerative features were evident.

Being Well-Born |Michael F. Guyer
One can call these "degenerative" and consider them as an expression of hereditary deterioration.

Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex |Sigmund Freud

British Dictionary definitions for degenerative

degenerative

/ (dɪˈdʒɛnəˌreɪtɪv) /

adjective

(of a disease or condition) getting steadily worse

Medical definitions for degenerative

degenerative

[ dĭ-jĕn′ər-ə-tĭv ]

adj.

Of, relating to, causing, or characterized by degeneration.