deteriorate

[ dih-teer-ee-uh-reyt ]

/ dɪˈtɪər i əˌreɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deteriorate ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

detention home, deter, deterge, detergency, detergent, deteriorate, deterioration, determinable, determinacy, determinant, 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

SYNONYMS FOR deteriorate

1 degenerate, decline, worsen.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR deteriorate ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

de·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 deteriorated

Dostum remains a power broker today, although his health has deteriorated from the effects of a hard life and heavy drinking.
The Warlord Who Defines Afghanistan: An Excerpt From Bruce Riedel’s ’What We Won’|Bruce Riedel|July 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
How could things in Ukraine have deteriorated to the point where Putin was now engaged in such a reckless act of aggression?
Why Putin Let MH17 Get Shot Down|James Miller|July 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Her mother has mental-health problems, and physical-health problems, which deteriorated after a hit-and-run accident.
Will Jordan Davis Become the First Transgender Miss England?|Tim Teeman|February 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Security has deteriorated and we have to find ways to establish law and order.
Libyan Government Turns to Ansar Al-Sharia Militia for Crime-Fighting Help|Jamie Dettmer|February 26, 2013|DAILY BEAST

After all that … of course he deteriorated into bad candidate!
Stuart Stevens, Half Right|David Frum|February 25, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When the powers are not used along the line of their strength they become demoralized, weakened, deteriorated.
How to Succeed|Orison Swett Marden
The color is grave and beautifully harmonized, although the paper has deteriorated and the colors have darkened somewhat.
John Baptist Jackson|Jacob Kainen
Or perhaps we had only imagined until now that the old breed had deteriorated!
English Pictures|Samuel Manning
Her love for Imlay had not passed into the second stage, but his had deteriorated into indifference very quickly.
Mary Wollstonecraft|Elizabeth Robins Pennell
I think the Hards must have deteriorated considerably since the battle of Lexington.
Across the Mesa|Jarvis Hall

British Dictionary definitions for deteriorated

deteriorate

/ (dɪˈtɪərɪəˌreɪt) /

verb

to make or become worse or lower in quality, value, character, etc; depreciate

(intr) to wear away or disintegrate

Derived Forms

deterioration, 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

Medicine definitions for deteriorated

deteriorate

[ dĭ-tîr′ē-ə-rāt′ ]

v.

To grow worse in function or condition.

To weaken or disintegrate.