DEGENERACY, noun 1. A growing worse or inferior; a decline in good qualities; or a state of being less valuable; as the degeneracy of a plant. 2. In morals, decay of virtue; a growing worse; departure from the virtues of ancestors; desertion of that which is good. We speak of the degeneracy of men in modern times, or of the degeneracy of manners, of the age, of virtue, etc., sometimes without reason. 3. Poorness; meanness; as a degeneracy of spirit.
Source: Webster's 1828 American Dictionary ↗ · public-domain · returned verbatim, no AI