deteriorate

Verb

Meaning

To make worse; to make inferior in quality or value; to impair; as, to deteriorate the mind.

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

Source: Webster's dictionary

Synonyms

degenerate drop weaken worsen fall slip decline decay slide diminish degrade rot impair wane disintegrate
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Antonyms

better improve recuperate ameliorate brae batten
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Hypernyms

decline decay worsen crumble dilapidate

Hyponyms

jade pall wear waste fatigue fade

Related terms

deterioration deteriorative deteriorable

Derivatives

deteriorated deteriorating

Examples

If man could be crossed with a cat, it would improve man but deteriorate the cat. Mark Twain

They look quite promising in the shop, and not entirely without hope when I get them back into my wardrobe. But then, when I put them on they tend to deteriorate with a very strange rapidity and one feels sorry for them. Joyce Grenfell

Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat. Mark Twain

If the use of leisure time is confined to looking at TV for a few extra hours every day, we will deteriorate as a people. Eleanor Roosevelt

The man who has allowed his body to deteriorate cuts a pitiful figure - chest collapsed, stomach protruding. Gene Tunney

Alzheimer's is a devastating disease. It was painful for me and my family to watch my grandfather deteriorate. We must find a cure for this horrible disease. David Hyde Pierce

Close letter words and terms

deteriate deteriation deteriorable deteriorating deterioratingly deterioration