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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Their mental health deteriorated, which reinforced the officer’s excuse to keep them deadlocked.—
Justyna Rzewinski,
New York Daily News,
21 May 2025
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While more durable than the original Irish linen that encased the wings when the KC Eaglet rolled out of the factory on Aug. 12, 1930, all fabrics will deteriorate over time from exposure to the sun.—
Mike Hendricks,
Kansas City Star,
21 May 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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The September departure of OpenAI’s chief technology officer, Mira Murati, who then founded a rival AI startup, has intensified the AI talent war.—
Anna Tong,
USA Today,
22 May 2025
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Working with players on a daily basis allows medical teams to develop strong relationships with them, but this can intensify the pressure to make the right decisions.—
Geoff Scott,
New York Times,
21 May 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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The State Department declined to comment on the pope’s status.—
Russ Bynum,
Chicago Tribune,
25 May 2025
Verb
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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
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This development will only exacerbate the struggle arts organizations are facing.—
Daniel R. Depetris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Worsen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/worsen. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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