worse

English

Alternative forms

• verse (Bermuda)

Etymology

From Middle English worse, werse, from Old English wiersa, from Proto-West Germanic *wirsiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *wirsizô. Cognate with Dutch wers (“worse”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key):
  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wɜːs/
  • (Northumbria) IPA^(key): /wɔːs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /wɝs/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

  • (US, New York City, archaic) IPA^(key): [wəɪs]
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s

Adjective

worse

1. (for non-slang definitions) comparative form of bad: more bad

   Your exam results are worse than before.

Derived terms

• bad comes to worse
• be the worse for drink
• for better or for worse
• for better or worse
• for the worse
• go from bad to worse
• make matters worse
• none the worse
• none to the worse
• one's bark is worse than one's bite
• so much the worse
• so much the worse for
• take a turn for the worse
• the cure is worse than the disease
• what is worse
• worse and worse
• worse-case
• worse comes to worse
• worse comes to worst
• worse for liquor
• worse for ware
• worse for wear
• worse luck
• worse off
• worse things happen at sea

Related terms

• worst

Translations

comparative form of bad

• Arabic: أَسْوَأ (ʔaswaʔ)
• Armenian: ավելի վատ (aveli vat)
• Azerbaijani: daha pis, pis (az), betər
• Belarusian: го́ршы (hóršy)
• Bulgarian: по-лош (bg) (po-loš)
• Catalan: pitjor (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 更壞 / 更坏 (gèng huài), 更糟 (gèng zāo), 比較壞 / 比较坏 (bǐjiào huài)

• Cornish: gweth
• Czech: horší (cs)
• Danish: værre, dårligere
• Dutch: slechter (nl), erger (nl)
• Esperanto: pli malbona
• Finnish: huonompi (fi)
• French: pire (fr), plus mauvais
• Friulian: piês
• Galician: peor, pior
• Georgian: უფრო ცუდი (upro cudi), უარესი (uaresi)
• German: schlechter (de), schlimmer (de), ärger (de)
• Gothic: 𐍅𐌰𐌹𐍂𐍃𐌹𐌶𐌰 (wairsiza)
• Greek:

  Ancient: ἥσσων (hḗssōn), χείρων (kheírōn)

• Hungarian: rosszabb (hu)
• Italian: peggiore (it)
• Japanese: さらに…悪い (sara ni…warui), もっと悪い (もっとわるい, motto warui), いっそう悪い (いっそうわるい, issō warui), より悪い (...yori warui)
• Khmer: អាក្រក់ជាង (aakrɑk cieŋ)
• Korean: 더 나쁜 (deo nappeun)
• Ladin: piec
• Latin: peior (la), nēquior, dēterior
• Macedonian: полош (pološ)
• Middle English: worse
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: verre (no), dårligere

  Nynorsk: verre, dårlegare

• Occitan: pièger (oc)
• Old English: wiersa
• Pannonian Rusyn: горши (horši)
• Persian: بدتر (fa) (badtar)
• Polish: gorszy (pl) m
• Portuguese: pior (pt)
• Romansch: mender, pês, pêr
• Russian: ху́же (ru) (xúže), ху́дший (ru) (xúdšij)
• Sardinian: pejus, peus
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: ло̏шијӣ, го̏рӣ

  Roman: lȍšijī (sh), gȍrī (sh)

• Sicilian: peggiu (scn)
• Slovak: horší
• Slovene: slabši (sl)
• Spanish: peor (es)
• Swedish: värre (sv), sämre (sv)
• Tagalog: lalong masama
• Thai: เลวกว่า, แย่กว่า
• Ukrainian: гі́рший (híršyj)
• Vietnamese: xấu hơn, tệ hơn
• Walloon: peyeu (wa) m, pé (wa) m or f
• Welsh: gwaeth
• Woiwurrung: nulim

Adverb

worse

1. comparative form of badly (adverb): more badly

   The harder you try, the worse you do.

   • 2013 July 19, Ian Sample, “Irregular bedtimes may affect children's brains”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 6, page 34:

     Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits.  ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found.

2. Less skillfully.

   He drives worse than anyone else I know.

3. More severely or seriously.

   The bad news affected me worse than it did my brother.

4. (sentence adverb) Used to start a sentence describing something that is worse.

   Her leg is infected. Still worse, she's developing a fever.

Translations

comparative of badly

• Armenian: ավելի վատ (aveli vat)
• Azerbaijani: pis (az), daha pis, betər
• Belarusian: горш (horš)
• Catalan: pitjor (ca)
• Czech: hůře (cs)
• Danish: værre, dårligere
• Dutch: slechter (nl)
• Finnish: huonommin (fi), pahemmin (fi)
• French: plus mal
• Galician: peor
• German: schlechter (de), schlimmer (de)
• Middle English: worse
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: verre (no), dårligere

  Nynorsk: verre, dårlegare

• Occitan: pièg
• Old English: wiers
• Pannonian Rusyn: горше (horše)
• Polish: gorzej (pl)
• Portuguese: pior (pt)
• Romanian: mai rău
• Russian: ху́же (ru) (xúže)
• Sardinian: pejus
• Slovak: horšie
• Spanish: peor (es)
• Swedish: värre (sv), sämre (sv)
• Ukrainian: гі́рше (hírše)

Noun

worse

1. (obsolete) Loss; disadvantage; defeat
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 4:12:

     Judah was put to the worse before Israel.

2. That which is worse; something less good.

   Do not think the worse of him for his enterprise.

Verb

worse (third-person singular simple present worses, present participle worsing, simple past and past participle worsed)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To make worse; to put at disadvantage; to discomfit.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:

     Weapons more violent, when next we meet, / May serve to better us and worse our foes.

Anagrams

• Rowse, WOREs, owers, owres, resow, rowse, serow, sower, sowre, swore

Afrikaans

Noun

worse

1. plural of wors

Chinese

Alternative forms

• worst

Etymology

From English worse or worst.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wœs⁵⁵/

Adjective

worse

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) bad; terrible
   • 2012 January 20, 楊千樺 [Miriam Yeung], quotee, “楊千嬅最壞打算屋企生”, in 東方日報 [Oriental Daily]‎^[1]:

     醫生幫我搞好晒！應該冇問題卦！不過如果好worse嘅話，惟有用最古老方法喺屋企生囉！咁突發都估計唔到架！ [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
     医生帮我搞好晒！应该冇问题卦！不过如果好worse嘅话，惟有用最古老方法喺屋企生啰！咁突发都估计唔到架！ [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]

     ji¹ sang¹ bong¹ ngo⁵ gaau² hou² saai³! jing¹ goi¹ mou⁵ man⁶ tai⁴ gwaa³! bat¹ gwo³ jyu⁴ gwo² hou² woes¹ ge³ waa^6-2, wai⁴ jau⁵ jung⁶ zeoi³ gu² lou⁵ fong¹ faat³ hai² uk¹ kei² saang¹ lo¹! gam³ dat⁶ faat³ dou¹ gu² gai³ m⁴ dou³ gaa²! [Jyutping]

     Doctors helped me set up everything properly, so there should be no problem! But if it becomes very bad, then I will have to use the ancient way of giving birth at home. Afterall, one can't predict emergencies.

   • 2020 January 22, 馬仲儀, quotee, “【武漢肺炎大爆發】新病毒與冬季流感同時殺到 前線醫護憂隱性個案爆發”, in 眾新聞‎^[2]:

     逼到你伸開隻手就掂到對方（鄰床病人），好worse㗎嘛。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
     逼到你伸开只手就掂到对方（邻床病人），好worse㗎嘛。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]

     bik¹ dou³ nei⁵ san¹ hoi¹ zek³ sau² zau⁶ dim⁶ dou^3-2 deoi³ fong¹ (leon⁴ cong⁴ beng⁶ jan⁴), hou² woes¹ gaa¹ maa³. [Jyutping]

     It's so packed that you can reach out your hand and touch others (patients on the neighbouring bed). It was terrible.

   • 2020 May 31, 阿然, quotee, “【香港的傷痕】一名大學生的四件事——上Gear、被捕、求醫、見官”, in 獨立媒體‎^[3]:

     「如果我變返做勇武，咁情況一定好worse（糟糕），有啲嘢令我睇唔過眼。」 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
     「如果我变返做勇武，咁情况一定好worse（糟糕），有啲嘢令我睇唔过眼。」 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]

     “jyu⁴ gwo² ngo⁵ bin³ faan¹ zou⁶ jung⁵ mou⁵, gam² cing⁴ fong³ jat¹ ding⁶ hou² woes¹ (zou¹ gou¹), jau⁵ di¹ je⁵ ling⁶ ngo⁵ tai² m⁴ gwo³ ngaan⁵.” [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2022 May 27, 黃世英, quotee, “【母親節】乳癌化療期再染新冠撐過痛楚　媽媽：只想三代同堂樂聚天倫”, in 香港經濟日報 TOPick‎^[4]:

     自己當時懷孕近九個月，而疫情嚴重，不方便外出，一想到不能探望、買物資送給在家隔離的媽媽，心裡非常擔憂，睇唔到佢幾辛苦，我又大住肚，嗰日喊咗一個朝早，覺得好無助，世界好worse（糟糕），公立醫院冇晒資源。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
     自己当时怀孕近九个月，而疫情严重，不方便外出，一想到不能探望、买物资送给在家隔离的妈妈，心里非常担忧，睇唔到佢几辛苦，我又大住肚，嗰日喊咗一个朝早，觉得好无助，世界好worse（糟糕），公立医院冇晒资源。 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]

     zi⁶ gei² dong¹ si⁴ waai⁴ jan⁶ gan⁶ gau² go³ jyut⁶, ji⁴ jik⁶ cing⁴ jim⁴ zung⁶, bat¹ fong¹ bin⁶ ngoi⁶ ceot¹, jat¹ soeng² dou³ bat¹ nang⁴ taam³ mong⁶, maai⁵ mat⁶ zi¹ sung³ kap¹ zoi⁶ gaa¹ gaak³ lei⁴ dik¹ maa^1-4 maa¹, sam¹ leoi⁵ fei¹ soeng⁴ daam¹ jau¹, tai² m⁴ dou^3-2 keoi⁵ gei² san¹ fu², ngo⁵ jau⁶ daai⁶ zyu⁶ tou⁵, go² jat⁶ haam³ zo² jat¹ go³ ziu¹ zou², gok³ dak¹ hou² mou⁴ zo⁶, sai³ gaai³ hou² woes¹ (zou¹ gou¹), gung¹ laap⁶ ji¹ jyun^6-2 mou⁵ saai³ zi¹ jyun⁴. [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2025 February 9, 馬友基, quotee, “預算案2025｜三個紀律部隊工會寧凍薪勿減薪　公務員總工會咁表態”, in 香港01‎^[5]:

     希望唔好去到減薪咁worse（差）的情況 [Hong Kong Cantonese, trad.]
     希望唔好去到减薪咁worse（差）的情况 [Hong Kong Cantonese, simp.]

     hei¹ mong⁶ m⁴ hou² heoi³ dou³ gaam² san¹ gam³ woes¹ (caa¹) dik¹ cing⁴ fong³ [Jyutping]

     I hope the situation won't be as bad as a pay cut.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• wars, warse, weers, weorse, werce, wers, werse, wershe, wersse, wirse, wors, worsse
• wærse, werrse, wrse, wurse (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English wiersa, from Proto-West Germanic *wirssō, variant of *wirsiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *wirsizô. Doublet of werre (“worse”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwurs(ə)/ (from late Old English wyrsa)
• IPA^(key): /ˈwɛrs(ə)/, (later) /ˈwars(ə)/ (of unclear origin; compare Old Norse verri)

Adjective

worse

1. comparative degree of yvel
2. comparative degree of ille

Descendants

• English: worse
  • → Cantonese: worse (Hong Kong)
• Scots: warse

References

• “werse, adj. (comparative).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adverb

worse

1. comparative degree of yvel (adverb)
2. comparative degree of ille (adverb)

Descendants

• English: worse
• Scots: warse

References

• “werse, adv. comparative.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Noun

worse (uncountable)

1. Something or someone which is more yvel or ille (i.e. worse).

Related terms

• worsen

Descendants

• English: worse
• Scots: warse

References

• “wers(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.