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deteriorate

[ dih-teer-ee-uh-reyt ]
/ dɪˈtɪər i əˌreɪt /
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verb (used with or without object), de·te·ri·o·rat·ed, de·te·ri·o·rat·ing.

to make or become worse or inferior in character, quality, value, etc.
to disintegrate or wear away.

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RELATED WORDS

decline, sink, ebb, worsen, disintegrate, lessen, lower, crumble, undermine, regress, slide, degrade, fade, fail, languish, depreciate, weaken, retrogress, pervert, debilitate

Nearby words

  1. detention home,
  2. deter,
  3. deterge,
  4. detergency,
  5. detergent,
  6. deterioration,
  7. determinable,
  8. determinacy,
  9. determinant,
  10. determinate

Origin of deteriorate

1565–75; < Late Latin dēteriōrātus made worse (past participle of dēteriōrāre), equivalent to Latin dēterior worse (dē from + -ter- formative in adjectives of spatial orientation (cf. exterior, interior) + -ior comparative suffix) + -ātus -ate1
Related formsde·te·ri·o·ra·tive, adjectiveun·de·te·ri·o·rat·ed, adjectiveun·de·te·ri·o·rat·ing, adjectiveun·de·te·ri·o·ra·tive, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for deteriorate

British Dictionary definitions for deteriorate

deteriorate

/ (dɪˈtɪərɪəˌreɪt) /

verb

to make or become worse or lower in quality, value, character, etc; depreciate
(intr) to wear away or disintegrate
Derived Formsdeterioration, noundeteriorative, adjective

Word Origin for deteriorate

C16: from Late Latin dēteriōrāre, from Latin dēterior worse
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for deteriorate

deteriorate

v.

1640s (as a past participle adjective, 1570s), from Late Latin deterioratus, past participle of deteriorare "get worse, make worse," from Latin deterior "worse, lower, inferior, meaner," contrastive of *deter "bad, lower," from PIE *de-tero-, from demonstrative stem *de- (see de). Originally transitive in English; intransitive sense is from 1758. Related: Deteriorated; deteriorating.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for deteriorate

deteriorate

[ dĭ-tîr′ē-ə-rāt′ ]

v.

To grow worse in function or condition.
To weaken or disintegrate.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.