deteriorate

Intermediatezipf 3.15

Pronunciation

/dɪˈtɪəriəreɪt/(dih-TEER-ee-uh-rayt)

Part of speech

verbneutral

Chinese

恶化；退化；变质（强调逐渐变差的过程）

Definition

To become progressively worse over time.

Word family

  • deterioration/dɪˌtɪəriəˈreɪʃən/(n)恶化

Collocations

  • health deteriorates
  • condition deteriorates
  • rapidly deteriorating
  • deteriorating relationship

Examples

  1. 1.His eyesight began to deteriorate in his early 50s. (gradual decline)
  2. 2.Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply. (worsen)

Synonyms

  • decline/dɪˈklaɪn/— general decrease, neutral
  • worsen/ˈwɜːsn/— simpler, direct
  • degenerate/dɪˈdʒɛnəreɪt/— decline to a lower state, often moral

Etymology

from Latin "deterior" = worse — to make or become worse