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Pervert vs Degenerate - What's the difference?

pervert | degenerate |

In transitive terms the difference between pervert and degenerate

is that pervert is to turn from truth, rectitude, or propriety; to divert from a right use, end, or way; to lead astray; to corrupt while degenerate is to cause to lose good or desirable qualities.

In intransitive terms the difference between pervert and degenerate

is that pervert is to become perverted; to take the wrong course while degenerate is to lose good or desirable qualities.

As an adjective degenerate is

(of qualities) Having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to undesirable and typically abnormal.

pervert

English

(wikipedia pervert)

Noun

(en noun)
  • (dated) One who has been perverted; one who has turned to error; one who has turned to a twisted sense of values or morals.
  • A person whose sexual habits are not considered acceptable.
    • Those perverts were trying to spy on us while we changed clothes!

    Usage notes

    * In contemporary usage, pervert is usually understood to refer to a sexually perverted person. Traditionally the word was mainly associated with persons of false religious beliefs.

    Synonyms

    * (sexually perverted person) deviant, perv (slang)

    Antonyms

    * convert (religious)

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To turn another way; to divert.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Let's follow him, and pervert the present wrath.
  • To turn from truth, rectitude, or propriety; to divert from a right use, end, or way; to lead astray; to corrupt.
  • * Milton
    • He, in the serpent, had perverted Eve.
  • * {{quote-news
    • , year=2004 , date=April 15 , author= , title=Morning swoop in hunt for Jodi's killer , work=The Scotsman citation , page= , passage=A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police said: "We can confirm that a 15-year-old boy has been arrested and charged in connection with the murder of Jodi Jones. A 45-year-old has also been arrested in connection with allegations of attempting to pervert the course of justice. A report on this has been sent to the procurator fiscal." }}
  • To misapply; to misinterpret designedly.
    • pervert one's words
  • To become perverted; to take the wrong course.
    • (Testament of Love)

    Synonyms

    * (turn another way) divert, steer, veer * corrupt, lead astray * misapply, misuse * (take the wrong course)

    Related terms

    * perverse * perversion English heteronyms ----

    degenerate

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • (of qualities) Having deteriorated, degraded or fallen from normal, coherent, balanced and desirable to undesirable and typically abnormal.
  • * Shakespeare
    • faint-hearted and degenerate king
  • * Jonathan Swift
    • degenerate from their ancient blood
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-03
    • , author= , title=The Smallest Cell , volume=101, issue=2, page=83 , magazine= citation , passage=It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted.}}
  • (of a human or system) Having lost good or desirable qualities.
  • (of an encoding or function) Having multiple domain elements correspond to one element of the range.
    • ''The genetic code is degenerate because a single amino acid can be coded by one of several codons.
  • (mathematics) A degenerate case is a limiting case in which a class of object changes its nature so as to belong to another, usually simpler, class.
  • (physics) Having the same quantum energy level.

    • Derived terms

    * (physics) degenerate matter

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • One is degenerate, who has fallen from previous stature.
    • You are a degenerate , boy. You're a disgrace to your ancestors.

    Verb

    (degenerat)
  • To lose good or desirable qualities.
    • His condition continued to degenerate even after admission to hospital.
  • * 1870 , Shirley Hibberd, Rustic Adornments for Homes of Taste (page 170)
    • Another bird quickly learned to imitate the song of a canary that was mated with it, but as the parrakeet improved in the performance the canary degenerated , and came at last to mingle the other bird's harsh chitterings with its own proper music.
  • To cause to lose good or desirable qualities.

    • Derived terms

    * degeneration

    External links

    * * ----