dēgenerō āvī, ātus, āre degener, to be inferior to ancestors, decline, be degenerate: a vobis: Pandione nata, degeneras! O.: Macedones in Syros degenerarunt, L.

—Fig., to fall off, decline, degenerate: ut consuetudo eum degenerare non sineret: ab hac virtute maiorum: a gravitate paternā: a parentibus, L.: in Persarum mores, L.: ad theatrales artes, Ta.: in perpetiendis suppliciis, Ta.

— Poet. with acc, to dishonor, disgrace, fall short of: hanc (personam), O.: propinquos, Pr.: Equus degenerat palmas, i. e. has lost the victorious spirit, O.