4 uses
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Definition
to grow worse; or describing a person or situation that is worse in the sense of deviating from what is socially acceptable
- The new ones start out as good-looking strangers and, depending on how they are treated, degenerate rapidly into bad-acting grouches or even cripples, or else turn into healthy, good-natured, long-lasting friends.Part 1 (47% in)
- But they don't carry any suggestion that insanity might be something other than sickness or degeneracy.Afterward (22% in)
- Hippies weren't really offering any alternatives other than colorful short-term ones, and some of these were looking more and more like pure degeneracy.Afterward (34% in)
- Degeneracy can be fun but it's hard to keep up as a serious lifetime occupation.Afterward (34% in)
There are no more uses of "degenerate" in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.
Typical Usage
(best examples)