deteriorate

verb

di-ˈtir-ē-ə-ˌrāt How to pronounce deteriorate (audio)
Definition of deterioratenext
1
as in to worsen
to become worse or of less value the garden slowly deteriorated after months of neglect

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to degrade
to lower in character, dignity, or quality childish name-calling that merely deteriorates what should be a serious discussion on an important issue

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of deteriorate And according to a European intelligence report this past June, Russian lenders are vulnerable due to soaring indebtedness and deteriorating loans. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 23 Aug. 2026 His deteriorating mental health comes up as a topic of discussion. — Miami Herald, 22 Aug. 2026 Reports have emerged of deteriorating conditions — and of deteriorating mental health, including apparent attempts by crewmembers to jump overboard. — Katia Riddle, NPR, 21 Aug. 2026 Vaile Mansion publicity representative Pam Fulmer said at the time that the manse was likely to deteriorate beyond repair without municipal dollars and attention. — Ilana Arougheti, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for deteriorate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for deteriorate
  1. worsen
  2. degrade
  3. crumble
  4. weaken
  5. decline
  6. corrupt
  7. descend
  8. diminish
Verb
  • Ford said in an interview published Monday that Canada should be prepared to cut off electricity exports to the United States if the trade war worsens, putting a potentially powerful weapon on the table.
    — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
  • According to a recent survey published by Deloitte, consumer sentiment remains shaky, with 57% of Americans expecting the economy to worsen in the next six months — the highest figure the company has reported since 2020.
    — Joe Bobowicz, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of worsen
Verb
  • Iran is expanding its defense capabilities, an Iranian army commander said Wednesday, after much of the country’s equipment was degraded by US-Israeli strikes in the early days of the war.
    — Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The status of its nuclear program, degraded by bombing strikes in 2025, hasn't changed.
    — Susan Page, USA Today, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of degrade
Verb
  • For decades, Mamdani’s predecessors have found the only choice more politically unpalatable than letting the whole three-layer cake of infrastructure crumble away is trying to stop it from crumbling.
    — Justin Davidson, Curbed, 24 Aug. 2026
  • The crumbling structure carries roughly 130,000 vehicles daily — of which some 13,000 are trucks — and has been in serious need of repair since the de Blasio administration.
    — Evan Simko-Bednarski, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of crumble
Verb
  • But the White House cut its offices and weakened its ability to follow up with cases, as well as slashed funding to research on disparities that people of color face in getting diagnosed and attaining resources for disabilities.
    — Claire Sibonney, CBS News, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Higher debt can also weaken economic growth by crowding out private investment.
    — Carolyn Bourdeaux, Chicago Tribune, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of weaken
Verb
  • Watts declined Rolling Stone’s multiple requests for an interview and did not specifically address a majority of questions posed to him in a detailed request for comment.
    — Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
  • When first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in May, Devers declined to learn the position despite Boston’s dearth of options.
    — Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of decline
Verb
  • The play depends on the creeping eeriness of thinking your place of comfort has been corrupted and undercut by evil.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 26 Aug. 2026
  • There, Prue must go on a journey to save her younger brother Mac from crows led by a woman named Alexandra (Carey Mulligan), who captures Curtis and attempts to corrupt him for her own mysterious purposes.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of corrupt
Verb
  • Fully unrolled, the canvas was the size of the cargo container, looking like a dust storm descending over a desert town.
    — Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026
  • No other spacecraft has ever descended into the moon’s shadowy south polar craters, although NASA did crash a rocket into one in 2009 and watched a resultant plume of water vapor burst out.
    — Jonathan O'Callaghan, Scientific American, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of descend
Verb
  • As more money and attention flow into the space, the challenge is how to capitalize on the cultural cachet of the Grand Slams without diminishing what made that access desirable in the first place.
    — Jessica Schiffer, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026
  • And the Ku Klux Klan, though diminished from its earlier power, had not disappeared.
    — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of diminish

Browse Nearby Words

deterging
deteriorate
deteriorated
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Cite this Entry

“Deteriorate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/deteriorate. Accessed 27 Aug. 2026.

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