Meaning & use
degenerative disease
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablemedical
An illness in which part of the body or brain gradually gets worse over time and does not heal.
Grammar: Countable: a degenerative disease, several degenerative diseases; often used before a noun as a modifier.
Patterns
- suffer from a degenerative disease
- a degenerative disease of the brain
- diagnosed with a degenerative disease
Her grandfather has a degenerative disease that slowly weakens his muscles.
Researchers are testing new drugs for degenerative diseases of the nervous system.
Regular exercise may slow some effects of a degenerative disease.
nouncountablemedicaltechnical
A condition in which tissue or an organ breaks down steadily, such as arthritis or a disease of the retina.
Grammar: Used with 'of' to name the affected part: a degenerative disease of the joints.
Patterns
- a degenerative disease of something
- age-related degenerative disease
Osteoarthritis is a common degenerative disease of the joints.
Doctors explained that the condition was a degenerative disease of the eye.
Word forms
| plural | degenerative diseases |
|---|
Common combinations
- a progressive degenerative disease
- The diagnosis was a progressive degenerative disease with no known cure.
- suffer from a degenerative disease
- Many older patients suffer from a degenerative disease of the joints.
- a degenerative brain disease
- He retired early because of a degenerative brain disease.
- slow the progress of a degenerative disease
- Physiotherapy can slow the progress of a degenerative disease.
- a rare degenerative disease
- The charity funds research into rare degenerative diseases.
Synonyms and how they differ
- progressive disease
- Similar idea, but 'progressive' simply means it gets worse over time and can describe cancer; 'degenerative' stresses the steady breakdown of tissue.
- chronic disease
- A chronic disease lasts a long time but may stay stable; a degenerative disease is defined by getting worse.
Word family
- degenerate verb
- to become worse in quality or condition
- degeneration noun
- the process of becoming worse or breaking down
- degenerative adjective
- causing or marked by gradual decline, as in degenerative changes
Commonly confused: degenerative disease or contagious disease? degenerative disease or degrading disease?
degenerative disease vs contagious disease
A contagious disease spreads from person to person, while a degenerative disease develops inside the body and worsens over time; it is not passed on.
degenerative disease vs degrading disease
'Degrading' means humiliating or shaming, so 'degrading disease' is not a medical term; the correct word for a worsening illness is 'degenerative'.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'degenerative disease' correctly.
Choose one answer.
A degenerative disease develops inside the body and gets worse over time, so a diagnosis affecting the joints fits. Options 0 and 1 wrongly suggest it is infectious, and option 3 wrongly suggests it goes away quickly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “degenerative disease”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.