1. The process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power, vitality or essential quality
   "The degeneration of the old political system led to calls for reform";
   - devolution
    
2. The state of being degenerate in mental or moral qualities
   "The degeneration of the empire was evident in its corrupt leadership";
   - degeneracy, decadence, decadency
    
3. Passing from a more complex to a simpler biological form
   "The degeneration of certain organs in parasitic species is an example of evolutionary adaptation";
   - retrogression

Derived forms: degenerations

Type of: abasement, abjection, degradation, physical process, process, shift, transformation, transmutation

Encyclopedia: Degeneration