If something degenerates, it gets worse, like a food fight that degenerates to an all-out spaghetti-throwing war. Degenerate can also describe an immoral person — or the behavior of such a person.
Whether used as a verb, noun, or adjective, degenerate carries a sense of making worse or decline — not living up to the standards set by your ancestors — or becoming unlike the people of your race or kind. People who are degenerate, or who exhibit degenerate behavior, are often set apart from others, in part out of fear that their influence will degenerate the morals of the impressionable people around them.
