worsen
verb
\
, ˈwər-sᵊn-iŋ \
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Synonyms & Antonyms for worsen
Synonyms
atrophy, crumble, decay, decline, degenerate, descend, deteriorate, devolve, ebb, regress, retrograde, rot, sink
Antonyms
ameliorate, improve, meliorate
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Examples of worsen in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Around the country, insurance coverage worsened in eight states and improved in three states. — Amy Goldstein, Anchorage Daily News, "Share of Americans without health insurance increases, Census Bureau reports," 10 Sep. 2019 Flight delays and cancellations at San Francisco International Airport worsened Sunday after the start of a $17.2 million construction project that will shut down the airport’s busiest runway for nearly three weeks. — Tatiana Sanchez, SFChronicle.com, "Closed runway causes major delays, flight cancellations at SFO," 8 Sep. 2019 Every other house along the dirt road hugging a stretch of Burgaw Creek sat empty — sold off or abandoned after years of hurricanes and worsening floods. — Jack Healy, New York Times, "They Survived Dorian but Wonder How Many More Hurricanes They Can Withstand," 6 Sep. 2019 Mugabe’s successor, former Vice President Mnangagwa, promised a new leaf upon his election to the presidency in 2018, but conditions have only worsened. — Aryn Baker, Time, "Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean Revolutionary Who Later Ruled With an Iron Fist, Dies at 95," 6 Sep. 2019 Partial replacements can worsen conditions by disrupting pipelines and dislodging lead. — Maura C. Allaire, The Conversation, "How to address America’s lead crisis and provide safe drinking water for all," 3 Sep. 2019 As well as spelling extinction for tens of thousands of species, that devastation would change weather patterns over much of South America and release into the atmosphere tens of billions of tonnes of carbon, worsening global warming. — The Economist, "The Amazon is approaching an irreversible tipping point," 1 Aug. 2019 Their symptoms, including cough, shortness of breath, and fatigue, worsened over days or weeks before the patients arrived at Children's Hospital. — Susan Scutti, CNN, "8 Wisconsin teens hospitalized with severe lung damage due to vaping, doctors suspect," 26 July 2019 Similarly, the Congressional Budget Office estimated in May 2019 that federal crop insurance would cost the government an average of about $8 billion annually from 2019 through 2029 due to worsening floods, droughts and other climate stressors. — Daniel Cusick, Scientific American, "Climate Change Will Strain Federal Finances," 18 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'worsen.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for worsen
worsen
verb
English Language Learners Definition of worsen
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worsen
verb
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Kids Definition of worsen
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