Degeneration of a module ($X⇝Y$)

A finite-dimensional module $X$ degenerates to $Y$ when $Y$ has a representative in the closure of $X$'s change-of-basis orbit in the representation variety of an associative algebra. The full orbit of $Y$ then lies in that closure. The relation is transitive because orbit closures are closed and invariant under change of basis. A split extension as a degeneration shows that a module degenerates to the direct sum of its composition factors.