worsen

/ˈwʌrsn/

/ˈwʌsɪn/

Other forms: worsened; worsening; worsens

When things go from terrible to even more terrible, they worsen. If your sore throat worsens, you should call the doctor.

If something gets worse, you can say that it worsens. So if the rain that started as a misty drizzle begins to grow torrential, threatening to ruin the picnic you've planned, the weather worsens. And if there's less money in your piggy bank every day, your financial situation worsens. The verb worsen shares a root with war, the Old Saxon werran, meaning "to entangle."

Definitions of worsen

1. verb

   grow worse
   “Conditions in the slum worsened”

   synonyms: decline

   antonyms:

   better

   get better

   ameliorate, amend, better, improve, meliorate

   make better

   types:

   inflame

   become inflamed; get sore

   come down, sicken

   get sick

   degenerate, deteriorate, devolve, drop

   grow worse

   deprive, impoverish

   take away

   fail

   get worse

   tumble

   suffer a sudden downfall, overthrow, or defeat

   drop away, drop off, fall away, slip

   get worse

   suffer

   get worse

   lose, suffer

   be set at a disadvantage

   regress, retrograde, retrogress

   get worse or fall back to a previous condition

   turn down

   take a downward direction

   fatigue, jade, pall, tire, weary

   lose interest or become bored with something or somebody

   wan

   become pale and sickly

   contract, get, take

   be stricken by an illness, fall victim to an illness

   canker

   become infected with a canker

   fade, languish

   become feeble

   rot, waste

   become physically weaker

   disestablish

   deprive (an established church) of its status

   backslide, lapse

   drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards

   drop off, fall back, fall behind, lose, recede

   retreat

   type of:

   change state, turn

   undergo a transformation or a change of position or action
2. verb

   make worse
   synonyms: aggravate, exacerbate, exasperate

   antonyms:

   better

   to make better

   ameliorate, better, improve, meliorate

   get better

   types:

   irritate

   excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame

   inflame

   cause inflammation in

   cheapen, degrade

   lower the grade of something; reduce its worth

   devaluate, devalue

   remove the value from; deprive of its value

   chafe, fret, gall

   become or make sore by or as if by rubbing

   itch, rub, scratch

   scrape or rub as if to relieve itching

   type of:

   alter, change, modify

   cause to change; make different; cause a transformation