worse
gb/wˈɚs/ us/wˈɚs/
A2
Anglais
~ 4500
Sens
0 sens
adjective
A2
property
1
Of poorer quality or condition
Not as good as something else; of lower quality or in a worse condition.
Schéma d’usage :
[something] is worse than [something else]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes confuse 'worse' and 'worst'. 'Worse' is for comparison between two things; 'worst' is for the superlative among three or more.
Synonymes
inferior (More formal and less common in everyday speech; often used in technical or evaluative contexts.)
Antonymes
better (Indicates higher quality, improvement, or a more favorable condition.)
Collocations
get worse
|make worse
|feel worse
|much worse
|far worse
Thèmes
daily life
|comparison
|quality
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- The weather today is worse than yesterday.
- Her injury is worse than we first thought.
- This hotel is worse than the one we stayed in last year.
- The traffic here is much worse during rush hour.
- Things are only going to get worse if we don't act.
Exemples pédagogiques
- Today is worse than yesterday.
- My cold is worse now.
- This coffee is worse than that one.
- His grades are worse this year.
- The movie was worse than I expected.
adverb
B1
property
2
To a greater negative degree
In a way that is more bad or unpleasant.
Schéma d’usage :
[someone/something] does [something] worse than [someone/something else]
Erreur fréquente :
Learners sometimes use 'more badly' instead of 'worse'; 'worse' is the standard comparative form of 'badly' and 'bad'.
Synonymes
less well (Focuses on lack of skill or success rather than general negativity.)
Antonymes
better (Indicates doing something more effectively or successfully.)
Collocations
do worse
|perform worse
|feel worse
|behave worse
Thèmes
comparison
|performance
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- She sings worse than her sister.
- I drive worse when I'm tired.
- They did worse in the second half of the game.
- He plays the piano worse now than before.
- This plan will work out worse for everyone.
Exemples pédagogiques
- He runs worse than me.
- I cook worse than my friend.
- She dances worse now.
- We did worse in the test this time.
- My dog behaves worse when it rains.
Nom
B1
entity
3
A more serious situation
A situation that is more bad than another one.
Schéma d’usage :
the worse of [two situations]
Erreur fréquente :
Some learners mistakenly use 'the most bad' instead of 'the worst' when they mean the highest degree; 'worse' is only for comparisons between two states or times.
Synonymes
decline (Focuses on deterioration over time rather than relative comparison at one moment.)
Antonymes
betterment (Refers to improvement in condition or situation.)
Collocations
for the worse
|the worse of the two
|fear the worst
Thèmes
comparison
|situations
|core_vocabulary
Exemples
- If you think this is bad, wait until you see the worse that could happen.
- The negotiations took a turn for the worse.
- Between losing my job and getting sick, I can't decide which is the worse fate.
- This injury could have been far worse.
- For the worse, the storm damaged most of the crops.
Exemples pédagogiques
- The weather took a turn for the worse.
- This problem is the worse of the two.
- Things are getting worse every day.
- I fear the worst will happen.
- Losing my wallet was bad, but losing my passport was worse.
Grammaire
Forme canonique
worse
API
GB/wˈɚs/
US/wˈɚs/
Syllabes et accentuation
worse (1 syllabe)
Stress on 1st syllable (worse)
Formes du mot
Adjective
- Base: worse
- Comparative: worser
- Superlative: worsest
Noun
- Base: worse
- Plural: worses
Famille de mots
Expressions
for better or worse
1/fɚ bˈɛtɚ ˈɔɹ wˈɚs/
fixed phrase
No matter if results are good or bad
Used to say that something will happen no matter if it ends well or badly.
Exemples
- We are partners, for better or worse.
- For better or worse, this decision will affect us all.
make matters worse
1/mˈeɪk mˈætɚz wˈɚs/
fixed phrase
Cause a bad situation to get even worse
To do something that makes an already bad situation even more bad.
Exemples
- Don't say anything now—you'll only make matters worse.
- She was late, and to make matters worse, she forgot her notes.
take a turn for the worse
1/tˈeɪk ə tˈɚn fɚ ðə wˈɚs/
fixed phrase
Suddenly become more serious or unpleasant
To quickly change and become more bad than before.
Exemples
- The patient's condition took a turn for the worse overnight.
- Our holiday took a turn for the worse when it started raining nonstop.