1
as in to deteriorate
to become worse or of less value
the condition of the house worsened with every year of neglect
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Recent Examples of worsen
His mother’s depression worsens — especially at the news of Hitler’s death — and the young boy feels intensifying pressure to help alleviate it.
—
Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2025
Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide may worsen dietary deficiencies in reproductive-age women by reducing crop levels of critical nutrients such as iron, folate and protein.
—Sheetal Khedkar Rao, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025
Following the first outage, up to seven air traffic controllers began a 45-day trauma leave, worsening an already existing shortage.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
The situation for consumers has worsened as businesses have passed production costs down to their customers.
—Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for worsen
Lovia Gyarkye, HollywoodReporter, 23 May 2025
Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide may worsen dietary deficiencies in reproductive-age women by reducing crop levels of critical nutrients such as iron, folate and protein.
—Sheetal Khedkar Rao, Chicago Tribune, 23 May 2025
Following the first outage, up to seven air traffic controllers began a 45-day trauma leave, worsening an already existing shortage.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025
The situation for consumers has worsened as businesses have passed production costs down to their customers.
—Malia Mendez, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for worsen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for worsen
Verb
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Fiscal Policy Without exception, the fiscal position of large countries, including the United States, as measured by government debt relative to GDP, deteriorated due to the impact of spending during the pandemic.—
Bill Stone,
Forbes.com,
1 June 2025
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But the age and condition of the fleet could deteriorate further, even with an infusion of cash to buy new equipment, because the wait times are so long.—
Alene Tchekmedyian,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2025
Verb
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Shannon Smith, 48, was sentenced to 8.5 years behind bars after pleading guilty to one count of taking the identity of another and four counts of aggravated taking the identity of another, the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said in a May 22 news release.—
Sara Schilling,
Sacbee.com,
22 May 2025
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But markets are betting that making the 2017 tax cuts permanent as well as eliminating taxes on tips and overtime, with only partial revenue offsets, will aggravate the fiscal problems.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
21 May 2025
Verb
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Old systems are crumbling under the pressure of new conditions.—
Kian Bakhtiari,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
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For the characters who remain, there’s a sense that the world’s well of meaning has run dry; the old institutions have crumbled, and no one is coming to save us.—
Katy Waldman,
New Yorker,
24 May 2025
Verb
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This could deepen existing social inequalities, creating new layers of privilege and marginalization.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
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Months passed and her discomfort deepened into a piercing pain, but by the time she was taken seriously, a scary diagnosis left one of her ovaries beyond saving.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
People.com,
25 May 2025
Verb
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The intense setup here is fairly straightforward as these types of sci-fi mystery shows go, with Buenos Aires residents going about their evenings when a sudden nightmarish snowfall descends over the metropolis, killing millions indiscriminately.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
23 May 2025
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The American entrepreneur was one of the five passengers killed on June 18, 2023, while the compact submersible descended en route to the wreckage of the Titanic, and Rush is now in all the talking heads' crosshairs as the villain of this tragic story.—
Ryan Coleman,
EW.com,
22 May 2025
Verb
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Supply chain vulnerabilities exposed during recent global disruptions have highlighted the fragility of our food systems and have intensified competition while simultaneously opening new markets.—
Persa Sakellaridi,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
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Complicating their mission, the government has placed the town under military quarantine and intensified its hunt for Eleven, forcing her back into hiding.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
1 June 2025
Verb
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Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo declined to comment on the WSJ report.—
John Bacon,
USA Today,
26 May 2025
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Yields have risen and the dollar has declined moderately.—
George Calhoun,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2025
Verb
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This development will only exacerbate the struggle arts organizations are facing.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
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The rare phenomenon cannot be countered with typical economic measures because acting against inflation can worsen the economy, while trying to boost growth can exacerbate price increases.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Worsen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worsen. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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