worsening

1. 1.

   process of changing to an inferior state

   Synonymsdeteriorationdecline in qualitydeclension

   Broaderdecline

   Narrowerslump
2. 2.

   changing something with the result that it becomes worse

   Broaderchange of state

   Narrowerdownturn

1. 1.

   changing for the worse

   “worried by the worsening storm”

   Antonymsbettering

Other forms of worsening

plural

worsenings·

Forms marked · are formed by the regular rule rather than recorded in the source data. English keeps a few hundred irregulars and the rest follow the pattern, so the rule is right far more often than not — but it is a rule, and the mark says so.

Questions about worsening

What does worsening mean?

worsening means "process of changing to an inferior state". That is the primary sense; the word has 3 in total, listed in full on this page.

How many syllables are in worsening?

worsening has 3 syllables: wor-se-ning. The stress falls on "wor". In IPA it is /ˈwɝsənɪŋ/.

What is another word for worsening?

Close synonyms include deterioration, decline in quality, declension. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

What is the opposite of worsening?

The recorded antonyms are bettering.

Is worsening a common word?

worsening is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.