de·gen·er·ate /dɪˈʤɛnəˌret, di-/
 (a.)墮落的(vi.)退化,墮落(vt.)使變質,使退化
 de·gen·er·ate /dɪˈʤɛn(ə)rət/ 形容詞
 退化,變質,敗落者,精神變質者
 De·gen·er·ate a.  Having become worse than one's kind, or one's former state; having declined in worth; having lost in goodness; deteriorated; degraded; unworthy; base; low.
    Faint-hearted and degenerate king.   --Shak.
    A degenerate and degraded state.   --Milton.
    Degenerate from their ancient blood.   --Swift.
    These degenerate days.   --Pope.
    I had planted thee a noble vine . . . : how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?   --Jer. ii. 21.
 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.
    When wit transgresseth decency, it degenerates into insolence and impiety.   --Tillotson.
 2. Biol. To fall off from the normal quality or the healthy structure of its kind; to become of a lower type.
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 degenerate
      adj : unrestrained by convention or morality; "Congreve draws a
            debauched aristocratic society"; "deplorably dissipated
            and degraded"; "riotous living"; "fast women" [syn: debauched,
             degraded, dissipated, dissolute, libertine, profligate,
             riotous, fast]
      n : a person whose behavior deviates from what is acceptable
          especially in sexual behavior [syn: pervert, deviant,
           deviate]
      v : grow worse; "Her condition deteriorated"; "Conditions in the
          slums degenerated"; "The discussion devolved into a
          shouting match" [syn: devolve, deteriorate, drop]
          [ant: recuperate]