Correct Word?

[maggiebee]

Just heard someone on the radio, while talking about electric wiring, say "well my house was built in 1939 so you can expect a bit of degradation". Is degradation the correct word? It doesn't sound right but I'm damned if I can think of the right one which I'm sure also starts with a "d". Any help?

[jennyjoan]

deterioration - would that suit

[grasscarp]

deterioration?

[sandyRoe]

or degeneration

[woofgang]

degradation fits too.
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/degradation_1?q=degradation.

Its often used in the moral or self image sense but is correct to use for materials like wiring too.

[Svejk]

degradation sounds fine to me. but what do I know.

[maggiebee]

Thanks folks, deterioration is the word I was thinking of though degeneration might suit too Sandy.

[lankeela]

Degradation is the buzz word in Formula 1 when referring to tyres.

[gingejbee]

degradation...from degrade....condition getting worse...sounds fine to me.

[Peter Pedant]

and no one has the right word which would be...

delapidation

[boxtops]

Does wiring degrade rather than dilapidate?

[Hopkirk]

To be pedantic Peter, surely electric wiring can't delapidate.

[SeaJayPea]

The insulation on electric wiring does just that - it 'degrades'. So degradation is the right word. At least, it's the word my late father, an electrical engineer for over 50 years, always used.

[factor-fiction]

I think of dilapidation as something that happens to buildings rather than wiring

[andres]

I agree with sandyRoe---degenerate.

[Svejk]

sandy's been getting a bit risqué lately but I wouldn't go that^ far.

[sandyRoe]

My eye lingered, perhaps a tad too long, on the lycra clad posterior of an attractive young lady as she jogged past, and my reputation as a Holy Joe lies in tatters. :-(