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Worse Very Common

Worse has 8 different meanings across 3 categories:

Noun · Adjective · Adverb

Definitions
Noun
1

something inferior in quality or condition or effect

"for better or for worse"

"accused of cheating and lying and worse"

2

Loss; disadvantage; defeat.

"After losing their biggest investor, the startup faced a worse situation than anyone had predicted before filing for bankruptcy."

"The doctor warned that leaving the treatment could lead to worse complications."

Verb
1

To make worse; to put at disadvantage; to discomfit.

"The sudden rainstorm made our already delayed flight plans even worse by grounding us for hours."

In plain English: To make something worse means to cause it to become more difficult, painful, or bad than it was before.

"The flu made me feel worse before I finally started to recover."

Adjective
1

(comparative of `bad') inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability

"this road is worse than the first one we took"

"the road is in worse shape than it was"

"she was accused of worse things than cheating and lying"

2

changed for the worse in health or fitness

"I feel worse today"

"her cold is worse"

3

comparative form of bad: more bad

"The traffic was terrible yesterday, but it got worse this morning when the bridge collapsed."

In plain English: Worse means something is not as good as before or as something else.

Usage: Use worse as an adjective to describe something that has become less good or satisfactory than before, such as in the phrase conditions are getting worse. It functions grammatically like any other one-syllable adjective and does not require "more" even though it is a comparative form of bad.

Adverb
1

(comparative of `ill') in a less effective or successful or desirable manner

"he did worse on the second exam"

2

comparative form of badly (adverb): more badly

"The storm caused even worse damage to the roof than we had feared initially."

In plain English: Worse means to a greater extent or degree, often used to describe something becoming more negative or difficult than before.

"The storm made traffic worse than anyone expected."

Example Sentences
"The storm made traffic worse than anyone expected." adv
"The doctor warned that leaving the treatment could lead to worse complications." noun
"The flu made me feel worse before I finally started to recover." verb
See Also
bad worsed pejorist misreform go from bad to worse not patch on turn around exasperated
Related Terms
Antonyms
better
Broader Terms (hypernyms)
bad

Origin

The word "worse" comes directly from the Middle English and earlier Old English forms meaning a greater degree of badness. It traveled into modern English without changing its core definition, sharing roots with similar words in other Germanic languages like Dutch.

Rhyming Words
rse arse erse orse morse terse barse carse norse torse birse zorse gorse perse corse farse marse sarse parse tarse
Compare
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