deterioration

American  

[dih-teer-ee-uh-rey-shuhn] / dɪˌtɪər i əˈreɪ ʃən /

noun

• deteriorations
  plural

1. the act or process of deteriorating.

2. the state or condition of having deteriorated.

3. a gradual decline, as in quality, serviceability, or vigor.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nondeterioration
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• deteriorations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of deterioration

1650–60; < Late Latin dēteriōrātiōn- (stem of dēteriōrātiō ), equivalent to dēteriōrāt ( us ) ( see deteriorate) + -iōn- -ion

Explanation

If something is in a state of deterioration, it's getting worse. A crumbling old house with a caved-in roof and foot-tall weeds growing through the deck is going through deterioration. Deterioration implies that things are falling apart: something once in good condition is now weakened, worn out, or otherwise in decline. Things often undergo deterioration because of neglect. Time also has a lot to do with deterioration. Museum curators are always worried about stopping the deterioration of their prized antiquities, like the ancient Egyptian mummies that should not be exposed to air.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deterioration deteriorations

The results suggest that the Greenland shark's remarkable lifespan does not necessarily come with the severe retinal deterioration that might be expected in such an old animal.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026

"Given the significant role Walmart plays in the lives of many Americans, the deterioration will set some alarm bells ringing over whether the consumer is running out of steam," Saunders said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

Like O’Regan, Fetherstonhaugh said the recent weakness in memory and storage names is more due to “a macro-driven pullback rather than deterioration in the underlying memory story.”

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

They say that the 5% share-price drop that greeted the lender’s third-quarter update was overdone, and that they see little evidence so far of a marked deterioration in asset quality or losses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

However, by all indications, my own mental deterioration will be quite rapid.

From "Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes

By 01:40 to her death, Child D had dramatic deteriorations at different points.

From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2022

For the film, we created several CVR audios, with different iterations and deteriorations and "parasite" sounds with different layers so during the film you could, like the character, understand what happened during the crash.

From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2022

Along with the deteriorations caused by age, weak adherence to safety standards, poor maintenance and corruption among enforcement bodies are all considered contributors to such disasters.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 20, 2021

The index’s 44% climb from its March 23 low stands in contrast to sharp deteriorations in gross domestic product and other economic indicators as a result of nationwide lockdowns, which are now easing.

From Reuters ● Jun. 8, 2020

While improvements, especially at the beginning, are sources of great encouragement, the deteriorations that are likely to be rather more frequent are prone to overweigh the good effects and eventual discouragement results.

From Psychotherapy by James J. (James Joseph) Walsh

Related Words

• decline
• degradation
• depreciation
• devaluation
• disintegration
• dislocation
• downturn
• slump
• worsening