# worsen
## English
### Etymology

From Middle English wursnen; equivalent to worse +‎ -en.

### Pronunciation

* (General American) IPA: /ˈwɝsn̩/
* (Received Pronunciation) IPA: /ˈwɜːsn̩/
* Audio (Southern England):(file)
* Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)sən

### Verb

worsen (third-person singular simple present worsens, present participle worsening, simple past and past participle worsened)
* (transitive) To make worse; to impair.
    Antonyms: ameliorate, improve, meliorate, mitigate
    Near-synonyms: aggravate, exacerbate; degrade, deteriorate; see also Thesaurus:aggravate
    Global warming has worsened the weather.
    As for further retaliation: adding such fuel to the fire, as it were, will only worsen the already unpleasant state of affairs.
** 1829, Robert Southey, “(please specify the page)”, in Sir Thomas More: or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society. […], volumes (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John Murray, […], →OCLC:It is apparent that, in the particular point of which we have been conversing, their condition is greatly worsened.
* (intransitive) To become worse; to get worse.
    Synonyms: decline, deteriorate; go downhill, go south; see also Thesaurus:worsen
    Antonym: improve
    Coordinate term: recover
    The weather has worsened.
** 1961 January, “Talking of Trains: Flooding at Lewes”, in Trains Illustrated, page 5:During the day conditions worsened quickly—for example, a 2-6-0 on the Uckfield line suddenly encountered flood water high enough to enter its ashpan and extinguish its fire—until lock gates up-river at Barcombe gave way and a tidal wave rolled down the valley meeting head-on a spring tide rolling up from the coast.
** 2023 April 5, Mel Holley, “Network News: TPE faces uncertain future after high cancellation rate”, in RAIL, number 980, page 8:TPE's cancellation score worsened from 7.2% to 23.8% when adjusted to include pre-cancellations (P*-coded) owing to a shortage of train crew.
* (transitive, obsolete) To get the better of; to worst.
    Synonyms: better, defeat, overpower

#### Translations

    The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

### Anagrams

* Rewson, owners, resown, rowens, snower, sworne

## Middle English
### Alternative forms

* werrsenn, wursen, wursien, wursin (Early Middle English)
* worsi (Kent)

### Etymology

Inherited from Old English wiersian; equivalent to worse (“worse”) +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈwɛrsən/, /ˈwursən/

### Verb

worsen (third-person singular simple present worseth, present participle worsende, worsynge, first-/third-person singular past indicative and past participle worsed)
* To worsen; to become worse.
* To impair or damage; to make worse.

#### Conjugation

| infinitive | (to) worseen | (to) worseen |
| | present tense | past tense |
| 1st-person singular | worsee | worseed |
| 2nd-person singular | worseest | worseedest |
| 3rd-person singular | worseeth | worseed |
| subjunctive singular | worsee | worseed |
| imperative singular | worsee | — |
| plural$^1$ | worseen, worsee | worseeden, worseede |
| imperative plural | worseeth, worsee | — |
| participles | worseynge, worseende | worseed, yworseed |
$^1$Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

#### Synonyms

* wursnen (rare)

#### Descendants

* English: worse (obsolete)

#### References

* “wersen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.