Degenerate and denigrate are words that are close in spelling and pronunciation and may be considered confusables. We will examine the different meanings of the confusables degenerate and denigrate, the word origins of the terms, and some examples of their English usage in sentences.
Degenerate means to deteriorate, to lose quality, to sink into a lower physical, mental, or moral state. Degenerate is used as a verb to mean the act of sinking into a lower state; an adjective, to describe a low state one has sunk to; or a noun, to mean someone who has sunk into a lower physical, mental, or moral state. Related words are degenerates, degenerated, degenerating, degeneration. The word degenerate is derived from the Latin word, degenerare, which means to be less than one’s ancestors.
Denigrate means to belittle, defame, or disparage. Denigrate is a verb; related words are denigrates, denigrated, denigrating. The word denigrate is derived from the Latin word, denigrare, which means to defame.
Examples
DANA WHITE said he is a ‘degenerate gambler’ and admitted to losing a staggering $1million boxing bet once. (The Sun)
The degenerate’s faulty memory of the encounter was, like his unhinged claims that Trump was cheated out of the White House, an obscene fantasy conjured from the dark corners of his subconscious where make-believe meets wish-fulfilment. (Irish Times)
The media’s actions denigrate the very financial structure of America, based on the corporation, as a soulless entity and recommends strong controls by the soulless government bureaucracies responsible to no one. (Santa Barbara Independent)
A senior Trump counterintelligence official said on Friday afternoon that Russia “is using a range of measures to primarily denigrate former Vice President Biden” and that “Kremlin-linked actors are also seeking to boost President Trump’s candidacy on social media.” (Mother Jones Magazine)