Word Frequency
worse (wɜːs
)
Definitions
adjective
- the comparative of bad1
-
See worse luck!
-
See worse off
noun
- something that is worse
-
See for the worse
adverb
- in a more severe or unpleasant manner
- in a less effective or successful manner
Word Origin
Old English wiersa; related to Old Frisian werra, Old High German wirsiro, Old Norse verri, Gothic wairsizabad1 (bæd
)
Definitions
adjective
Word forms: worse, worst
- not good; of poor quality; inadequate; inferior ⇒
bad workmanship
,bad soil
,bad light for reading
- often foll by at lacking skill or talent; incompetent ⇒
a bad painter
,bad at sports
- often foll by for harmful ⇒
bad air
,smoking is bad for you
- immoral; evil ⇒
a bad life
- naughty; mischievous; disobedient ⇒
a bad child
- rotten; decayed; spoiled ⇒
a bad egg
- severe; intense ⇒
a bad headache
- incorrect; wrong; faulty ⇒
bad pronunciation
- ill or in pain (esp in the phrase feel bad)
- regretful, sorry, or upset (esp in the phrase feel bad about)
- unfavourable; distressing ⇒
bad news
,a bad business
- offensive; unpleasant; disagreeable ⇒
bad language
,bad temper
- not valid or sound; void ⇒
a bad cheque
- not recoverable ⇒
a bad debt
-
Word forms: badder, baddest(slang) good; excellent
-
See go bad
-
See in a bad way
-
See not bad
-
See not half bad
-
See too bad
noun
- unfortunate or unpleasant events collectively (often in the phrase take the bad with the good)
- an immoral or degenerate state (often in the phrase go to the bad)
- the debit side of an account ⇒
£200 to the bad
-
See my bad
adverb
- (not standard) badly ⇒
to want something bad
Derived Forms
ˈbaddish adjectiveˈbadness noun
Word Origin
C13: probably from bæd-, as the first element of Old English bǣddel hermaphrodite, bǣdling sodomitebadly (ˈbædlɪ
)
Definitions
adverb
Word forms: worse, worst
- poorly; defectively; inadequately ⇒
the chair is badly made
- unfavourably; unsuccessfully; unfortunately ⇒
our scheme worked out badly
- severely; gravely ⇒
he was badly hurt
- incorrectly or inaccurately ⇒
to speak German badly
- improperly; naughtily; wickedly ⇒
to behave badly
- without humanity; cruelly ⇒
to treat someone badly
- very much (esp in the phrases need badly, badly in need of, want badly)
- regretfully ⇒
he felt badly about it
-
See badly off
adjective
- postpositive (Northern England, dialect) ill; poorly
ill (ɪl
)
Definitions
adjective
Word forms: worse, worst
- usually postpositive not in good health; sick
- characterized by or intending evil, harm, etc; hostile ⇒
ill deeds
- causing or resulting in pain, harm, adversity, etc ⇒
ill effects
- ascribing or imputing evil to something referred to ⇒
ill repute
- promising an unfavourable outcome; unpropitious ⇒
an ill omen
- harsh; lacking kindness ⇒
ill will
- not up to an acceptable standard; faulty ⇒
ill manners
-
See ill at ease
noun
- evil or harm ⇒
to wish a person ill
- a mild disease
- misfortune; trouble
adverb
- badly ⇒
the title ill befits him
- with difficulty; hardly ⇒
he can ill afford the money
- not rightly ⇒
she ill deserves such good fortune
Word Origin
C11 (in the sense: evil): from Old Norse illr badSynonyms
View thesaurus entry = unwell, sick, poorly, diseased, funny, weak, crook, ailing, queer, frail, feeble, unhealthy, seedy, sickly, laid up, queasy, infirm, out of sorts, dicky, nauseous, off-colour, under the weather, at death's door, indisposed, peaky, on the sick list, valetudinarian, green about the gills, not up to snuff,
= harmful, bad, damaging, evil, foul, unfortunate, destructive, unlucky, vile, detrimental, hurtful, pernicious, noxious, ruinous, deleterious, injurious, iniquitous, disadvantageous, maleficent,
= hostile, malicious, acrimonious, cross, harsh, adverse, belligerent, unkind, hurtful, unfriendly, malevolent, antagonistic, hateful, bellicose, cantankerous, inimical, rancorous, ill-disposed,
= bad, threatening, disturbing, menacing, unlucky, sinister, gloomy, dire, ominous, unhealthy, unfavourable, foreboding, unpromising, inauspicious, unwholesome, unpropitious, bodeful
= problem, trouble, suffering, worry, trial, injury, pain, hurt, strain, harm, distress, misery, hardship, woe, misfortune, affliction, tribulation, unpleasantness
= illegally, criminally, unlawfully, fraudulently, dishonestly, illicitly, illegitimately, unscrupulously, foully
Translations for 'worse'
- British English: worse Worse is the comparative of bad. It means more bad.wɜːs ADJECTIVE
- Arabic: أَسْوَأ
- Brazilian Portuguese: pior
- Chinese: 更坏的
- Croatian: gori gora
- Czech: horší
- Danish: værre
- Dutch: slechter
- European Spanish: peor
- Finnish: huonompi
- French: pire
- German: schlechter
- Greek: χειρότερος χειρότερη
- Italian: peggiore
- Japanese: 一層悪い
- Korean: 더 나쁜
- Norwegian: verre
- Polish: gorszy gorsza
- Portuguese: pior
- Romanian: mai rău mai rău, rea, răi, rele
- Russian: худший худшая
- Spanish: peor
- Swedish: värre
- Thai: แย่ลง
- Turkish: daha kötü
- Ukrainian: гірший
- Vietnamese: xấu hơn
- British English: worse Worse is the comparative of badly. It means more badly.wɜːs ADVERB
- Arabic: بِطَرِيقَةٍ أَسْوَأ
- Brazilian Portuguese: pior
- Chinese: 更坏地
- Croatian: gore
- Czech: hůř
- Danish: værre
- Dutch: slechter
- European Spanish: peor
- Finnish: huonommin
- French: pire
- German: schlechter
- Greek: χειρότερα
- Italian: peggio
- Japanese: 一層悪く
- Korean: 더 나쁘게
- Norwegian: verre
- Polish: gorzej
- Portuguese: pior
- Romanian: mai rău
- Russian: хуже
- Spanish: peor
- Swedish: värre
- Thai: แย่กว่า
- Turkish: daha kötüsü
- Ukrainian: гірше
- Vietnamese: xấu đi
Example Sentences Including 'worse'
And I still don't know you aren't one yourself, or something even worse.LIRAEL: DAUGHTER OF THE CLAYR (2001)
Conditions in America are better, not worse than three months ago.Glasgow Herald (2001)
Current routing shows me in late Tuesday, and the trend is getting worse.Yachting Boating World (2005)
Even worse for Paramount, MGM refused to cancel Pacino's contract.DE NIRO: A Biography (2002)
Friends, nothing gives politics a worse name than a Taoiseach who pretends that no hard choices have to be made by our citizens.Irish Times (2002)
He glanced sharply at the young man in search of signs of amusement or, worse , sympathy.CASCADES - THE DAY OF THE DEAD (2001)
Something far worse than he lay hidden in the depths of the pit.LIRAEL: DAUGHTER OF THE CLAYR (2001)
To make the journey worse for himself he chooses to travel at the tail end of the year, with winter fast approaching.Glasgow Herald (2001)
Wolves barely threatened an equaliser and their day got worse when an Easton free-kick was headed in by Mackay.Irish Times (2002)
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