Got worse in quality or became lower in standard or condition over time.
From Latin 'degenerare,' 'de-' (away from) + 'genus' (kind/race). Originally meant 'to fall away from noble birth,' later generalized to mean decline.
The word started as an insult about people losing their noble status, but now it describes anything declining—including how 'degenerate' became slang for cool because the meaning flip-flopped.
'Degeneration' was weaponized in early 20th-century pseudoscience to pathologize women's sexuality, non-white people, and disabled bodies as threats to racial/social purity.
Use 'declined,' 'worsened,' or 'deteriorated' for neutral description. Reserve 'degenerated' for historical analysis when naming eugenic pseudoscience.
["declined","deteriorated","worsened","degraded"]
Women and marginalized people were falsely labeled 'degenerate' to justify exclusion from medicine, law, and society; recognize this weaponized language.
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