worse
/wɝs/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.89 in modern English
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
comparative form of bad: more bad
adv
comparative form of badly (adverb): more badly
adv
adv
Used to start a sentence describing something that is worse.
Example Sentences
- "Your exam results are worse than before."
- "The harder you try, the worse you do."
- "Irregular bedtimes may disrupt healthy brain development in young children, according to a study of intelligence and sleeping habits. ¶ Going to bed at a different time each night affected girls more than boys, but both fared worse on mental tasks than children who had a set bedtime, researchers found."
- "He drives worse than anyone else I know."
- "The bad news affected me worse than it did my brother."
- "Her leg is infected. Still worse, she's developing a fever."
Etymology
From Middle English worse, werse, from Old English wiersa, from Proto-West Germanic *wirsiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *wirsizô. Cognate with Dutch wers (“worse”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: worse, wiersa, *wirsiʀō, *wirsizô
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /wɝs/
- British English: /wɜːs/
Usage
Inflected Forms
verse (alternative)
worses (present, singular)
worsing (participle, present)
worsed (participle, past)
worsed (past)