worsen
Americanverb (used with or without object)
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worsens,
present (3rd person singular)
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worsened,
past participle, past
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worsening
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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worsensimple
-
worsenssimple
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have worsenedperfect
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has worsenedperfect
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am worseningprogressive
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are worseningprogressive
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is worseningprogressive
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have been worseningperfect progressive
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has been worseningperfect progressive
Past
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worsenedsimple
-
had worsenedperfect
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was worseningprogressive
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were worseningprogressive
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had been worseningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of worsen
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English wersnen “to deteriorate”; see origin at worse, -en 1
Explanation
When things go from terrible to even more terrible, they worsen. If your sore throat worsens, you should call the doctor. If something gets worse, you can say that it worsens. So if the rain that started as a misty drizzle begins to grow torrential, threatening to ruin the picnic you've planned, the weather worsens. And if there's less money in your piggy bank every day, your financial situation worsens. The verb worsen shares a root with war, the Old Saxon werran, meaning "to entangle."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
These kinds of asset recovery can worsen housing instability, limit opportunities for intergenerational wealth and contribute to existing racial and economic disparities, the organization adds.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
The drought is expected to persist or worsen for at least the next month, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration showed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
"And Pg and Fn infections worsen survival rates of untreated recurrent or metastatic oral cancer, even after surgery and risk-adjusted adjuvant, or supplemental, therapies."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
Heading into August, the forecast trend is for warmer- and drier-than-average weather, meaning drought conditions could worsen before they improve.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
He was a reasonable man, and said his office was always open to us, but that excessive publicity would only worsen matters.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
In the future, regular genomic tests could allow clinicians to identify high-risk patients years before their disease worsens.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 1, 2026
Parkinson’s disease, according to the Mayo Clinic, is a nervous system movement disorder that worsens with time and cannot be cured.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
The numbers: The U.S. economy improved in July and businesses ramped up hiring, but the gains could prove short-lived if the conflict with Iran intensifies, oil prices climb even higher and inflation worsens.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 24, 2026
The deciding factor, he said, is largely out of the Fed’s hands: whether the Iran conflict eases and oil falls back, or worsens and leaves the Fed with a more stubborn inflation problem.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
On the other hand, if the patient worsens, the dosage or intensity of the treatment was not great enough; if he dies, he delayed too long in coming to you.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
Political tension and the security crisis have worsened in Mali.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
Ties between Japan and Russia -- which fought a war in 1904-5 -- have worsened since the full-scale conflict in Ukraine began in 2022.
From Barron's ● Aug. 13, 2026
This decline was possibly made worse by federal immigration enforcement, which district officials believe worsened the annual districtwide decline last year from about 2% — which had been expected — to about 4%.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Dozens of Indonesian schools were shuttered for a second day Tuesday to protect against the spreading haze from wildfires at the start of a long and intense dry season worsened by El Nino.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
As he and his family traveled through Heidelberg, he slipped into a coma, the result apparently of a combined assault of diabetes, colitis, and his foot infection, all worsened by a bout of food poisoning.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
The program comes as young people in the state face worsening hazards fueled by climate change including extreme heat, wildfires and dangerous air pollution.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Excluding last year’s generic revlimid windfall, underlying U.S. sales slipped 8.6% to C$362.9 million, with the drop worsening to a steep 48.5% on a reported basis.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
A survey carried out in 2025 among Cuban adults detected "extremely severe" levels of depression, anxiety and stress and found a direct relationship between prolonged blackouts and worsening mental health.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
"Today's efforts will focus on surveillance and cooling the affected areas in anticipation of the forecast worsening of weather conditions," it added.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“The thought around here is that it’s possible the Phalanxifor is worsening the edema, but we’d face far more serious problems if we discontinued its use.”
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
