WORSE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does worse mean? 

• WORSE (noun)
  The noun WORSE has 1 sense:

1. something inferior in quality or condition or effect

  Familiarity information: WORSE used as a noun is very rare.

• WORSE (adjective)
  The adjective WORSE has 2 senses:

1. (comparative of 'bad') inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability

2. changed for the worse in health or fitness

  Familiarity information: WORSE used as an adjective is rare.

• WORSE (adverb)
  The adverb WORSE has 1 sense:

1. (comparative of 'ill') in a less effective or successful or desirable manner

  Familiarity information: WORSE used as an adverb is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WORSE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Something inferior in quality or condition or effect

Classified under:

Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects

Context example:

accused of cheating and lying and worse

Hypernyms ("worse" is a kind of...):

bad; badness (that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency)

Derivation:

worse ((comparative of 'bad') inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability)

worse (changed for the worse in health or fitness)

• WORSE (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(comparative of 'bad') inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability

Context example:

she was accused of worse things than cheating and lying

Similar:

worsened (made or become worse; impaired)

Domain usage:

comparative; comparative degree (the comparative form of an adjective or adverb)

Antonym:

better ((comparative of 'good') superior to another (of the same class or set or kind) in excellence or quality or desirability or suitability; more highly skilled than another)

Derivation:

worse (something inferior in quality or condition or effect)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Changed for the worse in health or fitness

Synonyms:

worse; worsened

Context example:

her cold is worse

Antonym:

better ((comparative of 'good') changed for the better in health or fitness)

Derivation:

worse (something inferior in quality or condition or effect)

• WORSE (adverb)

Sense 1

Meaning:

(comparative of 'ill') in a less effective or successful or desirable manner

Context example:

he did worse on the second exam

Domain usage:

comparative; comparative degree (the comparative form of an adjective or adverb)

 Context examples 

He is worse than last year.

(Persuasion, by Jane Austen)

They found that the absence of C3 or CR3 made degeneration worse.

(Immune system can slow degenerative eye disease, National Institutes of Health)

All females in the study were adults by time of the 2009 drought, but those born in lean times fared worse in 2009 than those born in times of plenty, the researchers found.

(Born during a drought: Bad news for baboons, NSF)

The presence of TP53 mutations indicates worse prognosis.

(Adenocarcinoma of the Gastroesophageal Junction, NCI Thesaurus)

Something that makes a condition worse.

(Aggravating factor, NCI Dictionary)

"I hope it is he," thought I, "and not something worse."

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

When two viruses infect a plant, they can interact with each other to cause much worse symptoms and greater losses of yield.

(Researchers model ways to control deadly maize disease, SciDev.Net)

"They are, indeed," said the Scarecrow, "and I am thankful I am made of straw and cannot be easily damaged. There are worse things in the world than being a Scarecrow."

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

The findings suggest that traumatic microbleeds are a form of injury to brain blood vessels and may predict worse outcomes.

(Microbleeds may worsen outcome after head injury, National Institutes of Health)

Light pollution is actually worse than that, according to the German-led team of researchers.

(Study: Earth’s Night Skies Getting Brighter, VOA)