worsen

worsen — verb

1. for a bad situation or condition to become more serious or severe; if an event o

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB1
Definition

for a bad situation or condition to become more serious or severe; if an event or action worsens something, it makes that situation or condition more serious, severe, or unpleasant — for example, a headache that worsens over several hours, or an argument that worsens an already tense relationship.

Example

Reema's cough worsened after she returned to the smoky kitchen.

intransitive: health condition worsens

The heavy rain worsened the flooding across the coastal town.

transitive: [cause] worsened [effect]

Common collocations
  • worsen the situation
  • worsen a problem
  • worsen conditions
  • worsen relations
  • worsen the crisis
  • significantly worsen
  • gradually worsen
  • steadily worsen
Synonyms
  • deteriorate

    more gradual and often physical (buildings, health, quality); less direct than 'worsen'

  • aggravate

    transitive only; suggests making an existing problem more annoying or severe

  • exacerbate

    formal register; used in medical and political contexts for making an already bad situation worse

Antonyms
  • improve

    general opposite; things get better instead of worse

  • ease

    specifically for pain, tension, or difficulty becoming less severe

Grammar Patterns

worsen (intransitive) — subject + worsen

worsen + object (transitive) — subject + worsen + object

Usage Note

Frequently used both with and without an object. The intransitive form (e.g., 'the crisis worsened') is more common than the transitive form (e.g., 'they worsened the crisis'). In everyday conversation, 'get worse' is a more natural alternative, especially in informal contexts.

Common Mistakes

The rain made the situation worsen.
The rain worsened the situation.
'Make + verb' is incorrect here; use the verb 'worsen' alone, or 'make + adjective' ('make worse').
My headache worsened more during the night.
My headache worsened during the night.
'Worsen' already contains the comparative meaning, so adding 'more' is redundant.

Word family

  • worse
    adjectiveA1
  • worst
    adjectiveA2
  • worsening
    nounB2
  • worsened
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

These verbs all describe something becoming more serious or unpleasant, but they differ in register and usage. 'Worsen' is the most versatile and direct — it works in both formal and everyday contexts ('the weather worsened'). 'Deteriorate' is more gradual and often describes physical decay or decline in quality ('the building deteriorated over decades'). 'Aggravate' is always transitive and emphasises making an existing annoyance or pain more severe ('loud noise aggravated his headache'). 'Exacerbate' is the most formal, common in medical and political writing ('the policy exacerbated economic inequality'). In daily conversation, 'worsen' or the phrase 'get worse' are most natural; the other three belong to more careful or professional speech.

deteriorate ↗aggravateexacerbate ↗worsen ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

  • significantly worsen
  • gradually worsen
  • steadily worsen
  • dramatically worsen

Phrases

  • worsen matters
  • worsen the situation
  • worsen an already bad situation

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Formed from the adjective 'worse' (from Old English 'wyrsa', meaning 'more bad') and the verb-forming suffix '-en', which turns adjectives into verbs meaning 'to become or make more [adjective]'. The verb 'worsen' appeared in Middle English around the 13th century, replacing the earlier Old English verb 'weorsian'.