worsen

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English

Etymology

From Middle English wursnen; equivalent to worse +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

Verb

worsen (third-person singular simple present worsens, present participle worsening, simple past and past participle worsened)

  1. (transitive) To make worse; to impair.
    Antonyms: ameliorate, improve, meliorate, mitigate
    Near-synonyms: aggravate, exacerbate; degrade, deteriorate; see also Thesaurus:aggravate
    Global warming has worsened the weather.
    As for further retaliation: adding such fuel to the fire, as it were, will only worsen the already unpleasant state of affairs.
    • 1829, Robert Southey, “(please specify the page)”, in Sir Thomas More: or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society. , volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, , →OCLC:
      It is apparent that, in the particular point of which we have been conversing, their condition is greatly worsened.
  2. (intransitive) To become worse; to get worse.
    Synonyms: decline, deteriorate; go downhill, go south; see also Thesaurus:worsen
    Antonym: improve
    Coordinate term: recover
    The weather has worsened.
    • 1961 January, “Talking of Trains: Flooding at Lewes”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5:
      During the day conditions worsened quickly—for example, a 2-6-0 on the Uckfield line suddenly encountered flood water high enough to enter its ashpan and extinguish its fire—until lock gates up-river at Barcombe gave way and a tidal wave rolled down the valley meeting head-on a spring tide rolling up from the coast.
    • 2023 April 5, Mel Holley, “Network News: TPE faces uncertain future after high cancellation rate”, in RAIL, number 980, page 8:
      TPE's cancellation score worsened from 7.2% to 23.8% when adjusted to include pre-cancellations (P*-coded) owing to a shortage of train crew.
  3. (transitive, obsolete) To get the better of; to worst.
    Synonyms: better, defeat, overpower

Translations

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Anagrams

Middle English

Alternative forms

Etymology

Inherited from Old English wiersian; equivalent to worse (worse) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈwɛrsən/, /ˈwursən/

Verb

worsen (third-person singular simple present worseth, present participle worsende, worsynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle worsed)

  1. To worsen; to become worse.
  2. To impair or damage; to make worse.

Conjugation

Synonyms

Descendants

  • English: worse (obsolete)

References