make matters worse
idiom
: to make a situation worse
He laughed at her and then, to make matters worse, he accused her of lying!
Examples of make matters worse in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
To make matters worse, Smith-Njigba fumbled on a screen pass in the fourth quarter, leading to a score-tying field goal drive by the 49ers.
—
Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Following the interview, the journalist, Federica Polidoro, made a statement on her Instagram that seemed to only make matters worse.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
To make matters worse, the team may have also lost a star player for the season.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
To make matters worse, those injury setbacks occurred within a two-month window.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for make matters worse
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Michael-Shawn Dugar, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025
Following the interview, the journalist, Federica Polidoro, made a statement on her Instagram that seemed to only make matters worse.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 8 Sep. 2025
To make matters worse, the team may have also lost a star player for the season.
—James Brizuela, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
To make matters worse, those injury setbacks occurred within a two-month window.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for make matters worse
Cite this Entry
“Make matters worse.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/make%20matters%20worse. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share