Origin: Latin suffix -ate
Degenerate has 6 different meanings across 3 categories:
a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behavior
"The scandalous rumors spread quickly, labeling him as degenerate for his notorious affairs and public displays of inappropriate conduct."
One who is degenerate, who has fallen from previous stature; an immoral or corrupt person.
"The committee expelled him for his behavior, labeling him a truly degenerate member of the club."
grow worse
"Her condition deteriorated"
"Conditions in the slums degenerated"
"The discussion devolved into a shouting match"
To lose good or desirable qualities.
"The once-thriving community garden has degenerated into a weed-infested lot due to years of neglect."
unrestrained by convention or morality
"Congreve draws a debauched aristocratic society"
"deplorably dissipated and degraded"
"riotous living"
"fast women"
Having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to undesirable and typically abnormal.
"After years of neglect, the once-pristine garden had degenerated into a tangled mess of weeds and dead branches."