Worsen

/ˈwɜːsn̩/ verb

verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To make worse; to impair. transitive

    "Near-synonyms: aggravate, exacerbate; degrade, deteriorate; see also Thesaurus:aggravate"

  2. 2
    grow worse wordnet
  3. 3
    To become worse; to get worse. intransitive

    "The weather has worsened."

  4. 4
    make worse wordnet
  5. 5
    To get the better of; to worst. obsolete, transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
declineaggravatedegeneratedeteriorateexacerbateaccommodate

Example

More examples

"They were apprehensive that the situation would worsen."

Etymology

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

More for "worsen"

Synonyms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsBrowse writing guidesExplore topic clusters