deteriorate

CEFRB2

/dɪˈtɪə.ɹɪə.ɹeɪt/

verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    verb

    To become worse in condition or quality.

  2. 02

    verb

    Extra detail

    To grow worse; to be impaired in quality; to degenerate.

Examples

  • Liz's son's behaviour started to deteriorate when he started secondary school.

  • The situation may deteriorate at any time.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
3
Parts of speech
1
Citations
4
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /diˈtɪɹ.iə.ɹeɪt/
  • /dɪˈtɪɹ.iə.ɹeɪt/

Deep Dive

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To make worse; to make inferior in quality or value; to impair.

More examples

In context

  • Tom's and Mary's relationship continued to deteriorate.

  • to deteriorate the mind

  • The art of war, like every other art, ecclesiastical architecture alone excepted, was greatly deteriorated during those years of general degradation[…]

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

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Nearby

Origin

verb

Learned borrowing from Late Latin dēteriorātus, perfect passive participle of Late Latin dēteriorō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), further from Latin dēterior (“worse”). Cognate with French détériorer.