worsen

present singular third person worsens · participle present worsening · participle past worsened · past worsened

1. transitiveTo make worse; to impair.

   Global warming has worsened the weather.

   3 more examples

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

   As for further retaliation: adding such fuel to the fire, as it were, will only worsen the already unpleasant state of affairs.

   It is apparent that, in the particular point of which we have been conversing, their condition is greatly worsened.

   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

   Synonyms: aggravate, exacerbate, degrade, deteriorate, adulterate, aggravate, alloy, canker · Antonyms: ameliorate, improve, meliorate, mitigate

2. intransitiveTo become worse; to get worse.

   The weather has worsened.

   2 more examples

   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.

   1961 January, “Talking of Trains: Flooding at Lewes”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5

   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.

   2023 April 5, Mel Holley, “Network News: TPE faces uncertain future after high cancellation rate”, in RAIL, number 980, page 8

   Synonyms: badden, decline, deteriorate, go downhill, go south · Antonyms: improve

3. obsoletetransitiveTo get the better of; to worst.

   Synonyms: better, defeat, overpower