worsen
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Middle English wursnen; equivalent to worse + -en.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (General American) IPA(key): /ˈwɝsn̩/
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈwɜːsn̩/
Audio (Southern England): (file) - Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)sən
Verb
[edit]worsen (third-person singular simple present worsens, present participle worsening, simple past and past participle worsened)
- (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. […], volumes (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.
- (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.
- (transitive, obsolete) To get the better of; to worst.
Translations
[edit]transitive: make worse
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intransitive: get worse
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Anagrams
[edit]Middle English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Inherited from Old English wiersian; equivalent to worse (“worse”) + -en (infinitival suffix).
Pronunciation
[edit]Verb
[edit]worsen (third-person singular simple present worseth, present participle worsende, worsynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle worsed)
Conjugation
[edit]Conjugation of worsen (weak in -ed)
1Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
Synonyms
[edit]- wursnen (rare)
Descendants
[edit]- English: worse (obsolete)
References
[edit]- “wersen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.
Categories:
- English terms inherited from Middle English
- English terms derived from Middle English
- English terms suffixed with -en (inchoative)
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)sən
- Rhymes:English/ɜː(ɹ)sən/2 syllables
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English ergative verbs
- Middle English terms inherited from Old English
- Middle English terms derived from Old English
- Middle English terms suffixed with -en (infinitival)
- Middle English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Middle English lemmas
- Middle English verbs
- Middle English weak verbs