mindmap root((下降)) deterioration implies impairment of such valuable qualities as vigor, resilience, or usefulness: the ~ of her memory in recent years. degeneration stresses physical, intellectual, or moral retrogression: the ~ of his youthful idealism. decadence presupposes a previous attainment of maturity or excellence and implies a turn downward with a consequent loss of vitality or energy: cited rock music as a sign of cultural ~. decline suggests a more marked downward direction and greater momentum as well as more obvious evidence of deterioration: the meteoric rise and ~ of his career.