1. Word finder
  2. Word definitions
  3. worse

Find the word definition

What is "worse"

Crossword clues for worse

worse
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
worse
I.adjective
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a situation worsens/deteriorates/gets worse
▪ Reports from the area suggest the situation has worsened.
be bigger/smaller/worse etc than you had imagined
▪ The job interview proved to be much worse than I had imagined it would be.
longer/higher/worse etc than usual
▪ It is taking longer than usual for orders to reach our customers.
make things worse/easier/difficult
▪ Measures to slow down traffic on the main street have actually made things worse.
sb's eyesight gets worse/deteriorates
▪ Your eyesight gradually deteriorates with age.
sb's hearing gets worse (also sb's hearing deteriorates)
▪ The medication seemed to make her hearing get worse.
significantly better/greater/worse etc
▪ Delia’s work has been significantly better this year.
take a turn for the worse/better
▪ Two days after the operation, Dad took a turn for the worse.
the pain gets worse
▪ If the pain gets any worse, see your doctor.
things get worse
▪ As the recession proceeds, things will get worse.
went from bad to worse (=got even worse)
▪ When she arrived, things just went from bad to worse!
worse off
▪ The rent increases will leave us worse off.
worse than useless (=not useful, and causing harm or problems)
▪ It would be worse than useless to try and complain about him.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
even
▪ And if the show was a success, that would be even worse.
▪ The operation of set-aside is even worse than the concept.
▪ Entrepreneurial time is too valuable to spend on frivolous games or, even worse, in killing time on the Internet.
▪ Looking ahead to the retirement of the baby-boom generation made the prospect even worse.
▪ So fission power is an even worse idea.
▪ Gina's latest pick-ups were even worse than her circus friends.
▪ Sadly, this experience was even worse than the first.
far
▪ The situation with non-US tuna vessels is far worse, as most of them are operating free of any regulations whatsoever.
▪ Disrespect of what this country stands for is far worse.
▪ The traditional, massive unemployment of employable disabled people is far worse than it has ever been.
▪ To be fair, the explosion now is far worse than anyone could have expected.
▪ Hopefully you will also be raising money through sponsorship to help selected projects in countries far worse off than our own.
▪ Police believe the epidemic, as academic experts refer to it, is far worse than the official statistics suggest.
▪ Humane destruction is not easy to face, but fear of the unknown is often far worse than facing the truth.
▪ The experience was far worse than that.
much
▪ But now, much worse than that, she was taking up writing.
▪ The Minnesota Index did much worse than the broader market.
▪ The random scattering of seeds, and how much worse, of human souls, appalled her.
▪ This was much worse than the assault.
▪ Jezrael wondered how much worse it would have been if Mars were at aphelion.
▪ But Callisto suffered something much worse.
▪ Mild confusion Many people suffer from this, and it doesn't have to mean that they will eventually become much worse.
▪ Nevertheless Mr King says it would be much worse under Labour.
no
▪ Emilio, no worse than any of the others, nevertheless caught hell most often.
▪ Fifty-eight percent say they are no worse than their male counterparts.
▪ We could protest that we're no worse than everyone else.
▪ But of all the mistakes Quinn made from beginning to end, it was no worse than any other.
▪ It may be that urban poverty then was no worse than poverty in the country.
▪ In fact, it was no better and no worse than other Air Force major commands.
▪ For this all one needs is the assurance that a proof using infinitesimals is no worse than one free of infinitesimals.
■ NOUN
things
▪ The worse things got for this cheerful pilgrim, the better to enjoy our home comforts.
▪ But there were worse things than silence.
▪ There are worse things than being alone.
▪ But Albert insisted on it, and worse things as well.
▪ I have heard worse things here.
time
▪ The Lincolnshire fitters quickly crashed out with an even worse time.
▪ The prolonged federal government shutdown could not have come at a worse time for businessman Herb Stein.
▪ The drought could not have come at a worse time for Texas cattle ranchers.
▪ The guy backing in after us had a worse time with his 52-foot trailer.
▪ He had made a few calls, but couldn't have chosen a worse time to be setting up a casual liaison.
▪ What worse time could Armand have chosen to add his own activity to that of Solange?
▪ For Mr Barak the bombing could not have come at a worse time.
▪ But it couldn't have come at a worse time, given that their volatile relationship has turned into a horror story.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a fate worse than death
▪ I knew that Grandma's visit would be a fate worse than death.
▪ After all, she didn't know him, and a fate worse than death might just be awaiting her.
▪ It certainly wasn't because he was trying to save her from a Fate Worse than Death.
▪ There are various Pelagias who are known as penitent harlots or virgin martyrs who died to escape a fate worse than death.
▪ We've even growled at the horse, and threatened it with a fate worse than death, but to no avail!
better/harder/worse etc still
▪ And 245 specialty stock funds that focus on particular industries did better still, averaging a 6. 5 percent gain.
▪ But perhaps the early evening was better still?
▪ He didn't talk because he was afraid of losing the pole or, worse still, falling in.
▪ I started to hunt for a cheap restaurant or, better still, a snack shop.
▪ I thought that it would soon pass, and it did - for you to work harder still.
▪ Or better still, make a real talent show instead.
▪ Or better still, there was the village school practically next door!
▪ With hindsight, it would have better still to lock in a few more gains.
couldn't be better/worse/more pleased etc
for better or (for) worse
▪ The reality is that, for better or worse, the world of publishing has changed.
▪ All five, for better or worse, have received recent votes of confidence from their respective general managers or team presidents.
▪ And for better or worse, the new interactivity brings enormous political leverage to ordinary citizens at relatively little cost.
▪ And the consequences could be even more startling, for better or for worse.
▪ Decisions made in any of these places can hit our pocketbooks and our peace of mind, for better or for worse.
▪ He has toted the ball and the expectations, for better or worse.
▪ He was her husband ... for better or worse, he was her husband.
▪ Medical students in prolonged contact with junior doctors learn attitudes by example, for better or for worse.
▪ Today we know for better or for worse that cops, like doctors and priests, are merely human.
none the worse/better etc (for sth)
▪ Although the animal glowed rosy-pink, it appeared none the worse for its ordeal.
▪ I recovered, my mouth none the worse for it, after all.
▪ Peter's little pet was clearly none the worse for its time in the underworld.
sb's bark is worse than their bite
worse luck
▪ Bad luck for Venus, worse luck for the 12,000 fans, but hey, what can you do?
▪ I have to go to secretarial school, worse luck.
▪ Nearly all gone now, worse luck, and the guv'nor's arrived to read the riot act.
▪ You're a bad agent and you're worse luck.
▪ You go up there with the wrong attitude and come out with worse luck than you had before.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ a terrible script and even worse acting
▪ Conditions in the prison were worse than anything I had seen before.
▪ Duncan's handwriting is even worse than his sister's.
▪ I really don't think the situation could be any worse.
▪ I tried to fix the computer myself, but that just made it worse.
▪ Stop it Gary, you're worse than the kids!
▪ The next morning, the weather was much worse, and the team stayed at base camp.
▪ The traffic is a lot worse after five o'clock.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪ His injuries were worse than they would have been if he had been wearing a seat belt.
▪ I knew that there is no death worse for an eagle than death at the beaks of hooded crows.
▪ Jack Butler really didn't like the idea that he had been nobbled and worse than that, nobbled by a girl.
▪ Phillips' problems may be even worse.
▪ The welfare system, runs this view, makes things worse because it discourages people from working and rewards undesirable behaviour.
▪ Things could be worse for the McNemars.
▪ This could only serve to make things worse.
II.noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
bad
▪ These days, a more accurate description is that, despite official assurances, relations are bad and getting worse.
▪ After that, things went from bad to worse.
▪ Denying schooling, however, would just make a bad situation worse.
▪ Matters continued to go from bad to worse.
▪ On Ithaca, the island where his home was, things had gone from bad to worse.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a fate worse than death
▪ I knew that Grandma's visit would be a fate worse than death.
▪ After all, she didn't know him, and a fate worse than death might just be awaiting her.
▪ It certainly wasn't because he was trying to save her from a Fate Worse than Death.
▪ There are various Pelagias who are known as penitent harlots or virgin martyrs who died to escape a fate worse than death.
▪ We've even growled at the horse, and threatened it with a fate worse than death, but to no avail!
better/harder/worse etc still
▪ And 245 specialty stock funds that focus on particular industries did better still, averaging a 6. 5 percent gain.
▪ But perhaps the early evening was better still?
▪ He didn't talk because he was afraid of losing the pole or, worse still, falling in.
▪ I started to hunt for a cheap restaurant or, better still, a snack shop.
▪ I thought that it would soon pass, and it did - for you to work harder still.
▪ Or better still, make a real talent show instead.
▪ Or better still, there was the village school practically next door!
▪ With hindsight, it would have better still to lock in a few more gains.
couldn't be better/worse/more pleased etc
for better or (for) worse
▪ The reality is that, for better or worse, the world of publishing has changed.
▪ All five, for better or worse, have received recent votes of confidence from their respective general managers or team presidents.
▪ And for better or worse, the new interactivity brings enormous political leverage to ordinary citizens at relatively little cost.
▪ And the consequences could be even more startling, for better or for worse.
▪ Decisions made in any of these places can hit our pocketbooks and our peace of mind, for better or for worse.
▪ He has toted the ball and the expectations, for better or worse.
▪ He was her husband ... for better or worse, he was her husband.
▪ Medical students in prolonged contact with junior doctors learn attitudes by example, for better or for worse.
▪ Today we know for better or for worse that cops, like doctors and priests, are merely human.
go from bad to worse
▪ The rail service has gone from bad to worse since it was privatised.
▪ The schools have gone from bad to worse in this area.
▪ Things went from bad to worse, and soon the pair were barely talking to each other.
▪ As 1931 went from bad to worse the possibility of another marriage began to seem her best hope of salvation.
▪ It went from bad to worse as the heavens opened and turned the circuit into one huge puddle.
▪ Matters continued to go from bad to worse.
▪ Matters went from bad to worse.
▪ On Ithaca, the island where his home was, things had gone from bad to worse.
▪ That they are going from bad to worse.
none the worse/better etc (for sth)
▪ Although the animal glowed rosy-pink, it appeared none the worse for its ordeal.
▪ I recovered, my mouth none the worse for it, after all.
▪ Peter's little pet was clearly none the worse for its time in the underworld.
sb's bark is worse than their bite
worse luck
▪ Bad luck for Venus, worse luck for the 12,000 fans, but hey, what can you do?
▪ I have to go to secretarial school, worse luck.
▪ Nearly all gone now, worse luck, and the guv'nor's arrived to read the riot act.
▪ You're a bad agent and you're worse luck.
▪ You go up there with the wrong attitude and come out with worse luck than you had before.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ This movie was bad, but I've seen worse.
III.adverb
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ VERB
do
▪ However, a company could do worse.
▪ In groping for useful precedents, one could do worse than heed the tale of a man named Sherwood Rowland.
▪ I knew that he could definitely do worse.
feel
▪ Repressing your worries and bottling up your feelings will probably make you feel worse.
▪ I had not felt right since Frank had mentioned wanting to move and I felt worse now.
▪ That seemed to make him feel worse.
▪ It was not new to her and this made her feel worse.
▪ Ironically, those in the throes Of assimilating are likely to feel worse about them-selves than those on Union Street.
▪ When there was a letter from his father-and there had been only four-he felt worse.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ My foot hurts even worse today.
▪ No one sings worse than I do.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Worse

Worse \Worse\, n.

  1. Loss; disadvantage; defeat. ``Judah was put to the worse before Israel.''
    --Kings xiv. 1

  2. 2. That which is worse; something less good; as, think not the worse of him for his enterprise.

Worse

Worse \Worse\, a., compar. of Bad. [OE. werse, worse, wurse, AS. wiersa, wyrsa, a comparative with no corresponding positive; akin to OS. wirsa, OFries. wirra, OHG. wirsiro, Icel. verri, Sw. v["a]rre, Dan. v["a]rre, Goth. wa['i]rsiza, and probably to OHG. werran to bring into confusion, E. war, and L. verrere to sweep, sweep along. As bad has no comparative and superlative, worse and worst are used in lieu of them, although etymologically they have no relation to bad.] Bad, ill, evil, or corrupt, in a greater degree; more bad or evil; less good; specifically, in poorer health; more sick; -- used both in a physical and moral sense.

Or worse, if men worse can devise.
--Chaucer.

[She] was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse.
--Mark v. 26.

Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse.
--2 Tim. iii. 13.

There are men who seem to believe they are not bad while another can be found worse.
--Rambler.

``But I love him.'' ``Love him? Worse and worse.''
--Gay.

Worse

Worse \Worse\, adv. [AS. wiers, wyrs; akin to OS. & OHG. wirs, Icel. verr, Goth, wa['i]rs; a comparative adverb with no corresponding positive. See Worse, a.] In a worse degree; in a manner more evil or bad.

Now will we deal worse with thee than with them.
--Gen. xix. 9.

Worse

Worse \Worse\, v. t. [OE. wursien, AS. wyrsian to become worse.] To make worse; to put disadvantage; to discomfit; to worst. See Worst, v.

Weapons more violent, when next we meet, May serve to better us and worse our foes.
--Milton.

Worse

Bad \Bad\ (b[a^]d), a. [Compar. Worse (w[^u]s); superl. Worst (w[^u]st).] [Probably fr. AS. b[ae]ddel hermaphrodite; cf. b[ae]dling effeminate fellow.] Wanting good qualities, whether physical or moral; injurious, hurtful, inconvenient, offensive, painful, unfavorable, or defective, either physically or morally; evil; vicious; wicked; -- the opposite of good; as, a bad man; bad conduct; bad habits; bad soil; bad air; bad health; a bad crop; bad news.

Note: Sometimes used substantively.

The strong antipathy of good to bad.
--Pope.

Syn: Pernicious; deleterious; noxious; baneful; injurious; hurtful; evil; vile; wretched; corrupt; wicked; vicious; imperfect. [1913 Webster] ||

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
worse

Old English wiersa, wyrsa "worse," from Proto-Germanic *wers-izon- (cognates: Old Saxon wirs, Old Norse verri, Swedish värre, Old Frisian wirra, Old High German wirsiro, Gothic wairsiza "worse"), comparative of PIE *wers- (1) "to confuse, mix up" (cognates: Old High German werra "strife," Old Saxon werran "to entangle, compound;" see war (n.)). Used as a comparative of bad, evil, ill or as the opposite of better. The adverb is Old English wyrs; the noun is Old English wyrsa. Phrase for better or for worse is attested from late 14c. (for bet, for wers); to change for the worse is recorded from c.1400.

Wiktionary
worse

  1. 1 (en-comparativebad) 2 More ill. adv. (en-comparative of badly pos=adverb) n. 1 (context obsolete English) Loss; disadvantage; defeat. 2 That which is worse; something less good. v

  2. (context obsolete transitive English) To make worse; to put at disadvantage; to discomfit.

Related phrases:
WordNet
worse

adv. (comparative of `ill') in a less effective or successful or desirable manner; "he did worse on the second exam"

worse

  1. adj. (comparative of `bad') inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability; "this road is worse than the first one we took"; "the road is in worse shape than it was"; "she was accused of worse things than cheating and lying" [ant: better]

  2. changed for the worse in health or fitness; "I feel worse today"; "her cold is worse" [syn: worsened] [ant: better]

  3. n. something inferior in quality or condition or effect; "for better or for worse"; "accused of cheating and lying and worse"

worse

See bad

bad

  1. n. that which is below standard or expectations as of ethics or decency; "take the bad with the good" [syn: badness] [ant: good, good]

  2. [also: worst, worse]

bad

  1. adv. with great intensity (`bad' is a nonstandard variant for `badly'); "the injury hurt badly"; "the buildings were badly shaken"; "it hurts bad"; "we need water bad" [syn: badly]

  2. very much; strongly; "I wanted it badly enough to work hard for it"; "the cables had sagged badly"; "they were badly in need of help"; "he wants a bicycle so bad he can taste it" [syn: badly]

  3. [also: worst, worse]

bad

  1. adj. having undesirable or negative qualities; "a bad report card"; "his sloppy appearance made a bad impression"; "a bad little boy"; "clothes in bad shape"; "a bad cut"; "bad luck"; "the news was very bad"; "the reviews were bad"; "the pay is bad"; "it was a bad light for reading"; "the movie was a bad choice" [ant: good]

  2. very intense; "a bad headache"; "in a big rage"; "had a big (or bad) shock"; "a bad earthquake"; "a bad storm" [syn: big]

  3. feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad'); "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night" [syn: tough]

  4. (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition; "bad meat"; "a refrigerator full of spoilt food" [syn: spoiled, spoilt]

  5. not capable of being collected; "a bad (or uncollectible) debt" [syn: uncollectible]

  6. below average in quality or performance; "a bad chess player"; "a bad recital"

  7. nonstandard; "so-called bad grammar"

  8. not financially safe or secure; "a bad investment"; "high risk investments"; "anything that promises to pay too much can't help being risky"; "speculative business enterprises" [syn: insecure, risky, high-risk, speculative]

  9. physically unsound or diseased; "has a bad back"; "a bad heart"; "bad teeth"; "an unsound limb"; "unsound teeth" [syn: unfit, unsound]

  10. capable of harming; "bad habits"; "bad air"; "smoking is bad for you"

  11. keenly sorry or regretful; "felt bad about letting the team down"; "was sorry that she had treated him so badly"; "felt bad about breaking the vase" [syn: sorry]

  12. characterized by wickedness or immorality; "led a very bad life" [syn: immoral]

  13. reproduced fraudulently; "like a bad penny..."; "a forged twenty dollar bill" [syn: forged]

  14. not working properly; "a bad telephone connection"; "a defective appliance" [syn: defective]

  15. [also: worst, worse]

Related phrases:
Wikipedia
Related phrases:

Usage examples of "worse".

And before she is halfway through the scale, she decides: the accompanist is worse.

Worse, traditional accounting provided benefits to companies that sold winning positions while holding on to losers.

With her first coherent thought, finding herself blanketed by tons of stony carbon, Maia realized that there were indeed worse things than acrophobia or seasickness.

The next May, this terrible affliction together with hard work completely broke me down and although I was doctoring all the time I kept steadily growing worse.

And if she, the Archangel Alleluia, did not sing a mass with the son of Jeremiah at her side, the same thing could happen again this spring--the same thing or worse.

And things could only get worse during an ambulance ride, especially if that ambulance had to travel three miles to get to the nearest C-section room.

Blood on the carpet, blood on the armchairs and antimacassars, even a little blood spurtled on to the wall, and what was worse, Mrs.

Clearly it was wisest to creep east to the plaza of twin lions and descend at once to the gulf, where assuredly he would meet no horrors worse than those above, and where he might soon find ghouls eager to rescue their brethren and perhaps to wipe out the moonbeasts from the black galley.

The situation could get worse as automation continues to take over more and more of our manufacturing industries.

But if the insanity were temporary, or if Ballenger could recover sufficiently to conceal it from the judge, then Watson himself might be in an unfortunate and vulnerable legal position: a suit for false arrest, or worse.

There was no doubt at all that for Hosteen Barbone and Gracie Cayodito and, much worse, Frank Sam Nakai, his own Little Father, mere absence of proof was not good enough.

Get you high on some mean shit they call basuco, made from coke but takes hold of you worse.

But Roger and the young men of his age think that nothing has happened, that we are not much worse off than we were, that there is no need for us to bestir ourselves.

He was still furious with Blaise for not revealing her identity, and intellectually he knew as long as she was a cadet, she was worse than poison.

Warmth and rest were inside the hotel, but the blizzard was growing worse and they must all reach home.