A2adjective 1K

Worse

UK /["/wɜːs/"]/ US /["/wɜːrs/"]/ Pronunciation

Definition

of poorer quality or lower standard; more unpleasant

Listen to definition

In simple words: Not as good; more bad.

Examples

• The weather today is worse than it was yesterday.
• I feel worse after eating that spicy food.
• His grades in math got worse this semester.
• Things can't get any worse than they already are.
• The situation became worse when the storm hit.

Usage notes

Use 'worse' to compare two things negatively. Avoid using it when describing a single condition without comparison.

Grammar pattern

worse + than + object

Memory hint

Think of 'worse' as 'worse than before.'

Collocations

• be
• feel
• look
• considerably
• dramatically
• far
• no
• not any
• be
• feel
• look
• considerably
• dramatically
• far
• no
• not any
• be
• feel
• look
• considerably
• dramatically
• far
• no
• not any

Synonyms

• inferior
• poorer
• lesser

Antonyms

• better
• good

Common mistakes

• Confused with 'worst' which is for the superlative form.
• Using 'more worse,' when it's just 'worse.'
• Confusing with 'bad' — 'worse' is a comparison.