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1 VERB If you defy someone or something that is trying to make you behave in a particular way, you refuse to obey them and behave in that way. □ [V n] This was the first (and last) time that I dared to defy my mother.

2 VERB If you defy someone to do something, you challenge them to do it when you think that they will be unable to do it or too frightened to do it. □ [V n to-inf] I defy you to read this book and not feel motivated to change.

3 VERB [no passive, no cont] If something defies description or understanding, it is so strange, extreme, or surprising that it is almost impossible to understand or explain. □ [V n] It's a devastating and barbaric act that defies all comprehension.

de|gen|era|cy /d I dʒe nərəsi/ N‑UNCOUNT If you refer to the behaviour of a group of people as degeneracy , you mean that you think it is shocking, immoral, or disgusting. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  …the moral degeneracy of society.

de|gen|er|ate (degenerates , degenerating , degenerated ) The verb is pronounced /d I dʒe nəre I t/. The adjective and noun are pronounced /d I dʒe nərət/. 1 VERB If you say that someone or something degenerates , you mean that they become worse in some way, for example weaker, lower in quality, or more dangerous. □ [V ] Inactivity can make your joints stiff, and the bones may begin to degenerate. □ [V + into ] …a very serious humanitarian crisis which could degenerate into a catastrophe. ●  de|gen|era|tion /d I dʒe nəre I ʃ ^ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □  …various forms of physical and mental degeneration.

2 ADJ If you describe a person or their behaviour as degenerate , you disapprove of them because you think they have low standards of behaviour or morality. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  …a group of degenerate computer hackers.

3 N‑COUNT If you refer to someone as a degenerate , you disapprove of them because you think they have low standards of behaviour or morality. [DISAPPROVAL ]

de|gen|era|tive /d I dʒe nərət I v/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] A degenerative disease or condition is one that gets worse as time progresses. □  …degenerative diseases of the brain, like Alzheimer's.

deg|ra|da|tion /de grəde I ʃ ^ə n/ (degradations )

1 N‑VAR You use degradation to refer to a situation, condition, or experience which you consider shameful and disgusting, especially one which involves poverty or immorality. [DISAPPROVAL ] □  They were sickened by the scenes of misery and degradation they found.

2 N‑UNCOUNT Degradation is the process of something becoming worse or weaker, or being made worse or weaker. □  I feel this signals the degradation of American culture.

3 N‑UNCOUNT The degradation of land or of the environment is the process of its becoming damaged and poorer, for example because of the effects of pollution, industry, and modern agricultural methods. [TECHNICAL ]

de|grade /d I gre I d/ (degrades , degrading , degraded )

1 VERB Something that degrades someone causes people to have less respect for them. □ [V n] …the notion that pornography degrades women. □ [V pron-refl] When I asked him if he had ever taken bribes he said he wouldn't degrade himself like that. ●  de|grad|ing ADJ □  Mr Porter was subjected to a degrading strip-search.

2 VERB To degrade something means to cause it to get worse. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] …the ability to meet human needs indefinitely without degrading the environment.

3 VERB In science, if a substance degrades or if something degrades it, it changes chemically and decays or separates into different substances. [TECHNICAL ] □ [V ] This substance degrades rapidly in the soil. □ [V n] …the ability of these enzymes to degrade cellulose.

de|gree ◆◆◇ /d I griː / (degrees )