Skip to content

worse

/wɝs/noun, adjective, adverb1 syllable

Worse means: having undesirable or negative qualities.

Synonyms for worse53

adjective, as in having undesirable or negative qualities

bad, atrocious, abominable, awful, dreadful, painful, terrible, unspeakable, corked, corky, deplorable, distressing, lamentable, pitiful
and 11 more, sad, sorry, fearful, frightful, hard, tough, hopeless, horrid, icky, crappy, lousy

adjective, as in feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone

regretful, sorry, bad, penitent, repentant

adjective, as in not financially safe or secure

bad, risky, high-risk, speculative, unsound

adjective, as in (of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition

bad, spoiled, spoilt, stale

adjective, as in physically unsound or diseased

bad, unfit, unsound, unhealthy

adjective, as in reproduced fraudulently

bad, forged, counterfeit, imitative

adjective, as in not working properly

bad, defective, malfunctioning, nonfunctional

adjective, as in serious or severe

adjective, as in feeling physical discomfort or pain (‘tough’ is occasionally used colloquially for ‘bad’)

adjective, as in not capable of being collected

bad, uncollectible, invalid

adjective, as in below average in quality or performance

adjective, as in nonstandard

bad, nonstandard

adjective, as in capable of harming

adjective, as in characterized by wickedness or immorality

adjective, as in (comparative of ‘bad’) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability

worsened

adjective, as in changed for the worse in health or fitness

worsened

Opposites of worse

What does worse mean?18

adjective

1

having undesirable or negative qualities“a bad report card”

2

feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone“felt regretful over his vanished youth”

3

not financially safe or secure“a bad investment”

4

(of foodstuffs) not in an edible or usable condition“bad meat”

5

physically unsound or diseased“has a bad back”

6

reproduced fraudulently“like a bad penny …”

7

not working properly“a bad telephone connection”

8

serious or severe“a bad headache”

9

feeling physical discomfort or pain (‘tough’ is occasionally used colloquially for ‘bad’)“my throat feels bad”

10

not capable of being collected“a bad (or uncollectible) debt”

11

below average in quality or performance“a bad chess player”

12

nonstandard“so-called bad grammar”

13

capable of harming“bad air”

14

characterized by wickedness or immorality“led a very bad life”

15

(comparative of ‘bad’) inferior to another in quality or condition or desirability“this road is worse than the first one we took”

16

changed for the worse in health or fitness“I feel worse today”

noun

1

something inferior in quality or condition or effect“for better or for worse”

adverb

1

(comparative of ‘ill’) in a less effective or successful or desirable manner“he did worse on the second exam”

Definitions from the Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

What rhymes with worse?13

two syllables

reversediverseadverseinversedispersetransverseperverseaverse

three syllables

reimburse
Show 40 near rhymes

Worse in a sentence

  • Send for the doctor at once, or the patient will get worse.unknown
  • To make matters worse, his wife fell ill.CM
  • You had better go to bed right away, or your cold will get worse.CM
  • Shylock is greedy, and what is worse, very stingy.Swift
  • To make matters worse, he isn't even conscious of annoying his neighbors.CK
  • To make matters worse, it began to rain.CK
  • It was getting dark, and, what made matters worse, it began to rain.CM
  • It got dark, and what was worse, it began to rain.Swift

Sentences from Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, credited to their authors.