deteriorate
Americanverb (used with or without object)
-
to make or become worse or inferior in condition, character, quality, value, etc.
- Synonyms:
- worsen, decline, degenerate
-
to disintegrate or wear away.
verb
-
to make or become worse or lower in quality, value, character, etc; depreciate
-
(intr) to wear away or disintegrate
Other Word Forms
- deterioration noun
- deteriorative adjective
- undeteriorated adjective
- undeteriorative adjective
Etymology
Origin of deteriorate
First recorded in 1565–75; from Late Latin dēteriōrātus “made worse,” past participle of dēteriōrāre “to make worse,” from Latin dēterior “worse,” from dē de- + -ter-, element in adjectives relating to spatial orientation + -ior, comparative suffix; exterior, interior
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.
Rights groups and Lai's family have raised concerns about his deteriorating health in prison.
From BBC
Within two days of being there, her condition deteriorated and she was returned to hospital.
From BBC
Relative performance also has deteriorated since the start of 2025, with the stock lagging behind its financial peers.
From Barron's
Or that the public housing she championed would itself deteriorate so badly that, by 1990, the federal government would label much of it as “severely distressed”—and demolish it for having become a latter-day slum.
Then her eyesight deteriorated, which necessitated a month of radiation.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
