worse

English Online Dictionary. What means worse‎? What does worse mean?

English

Alternative forms

• verse (Bermuda)

Etymology

From Middle English worse, werse, from Old English wiersa, from Proto-Germanic *wirsizô. Cognate with Dutch wers (“worse”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /wɜːs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /wɝs/
• (US, New York City, archaic) IPA^(key): [wəɪs]
• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)s

Adjective

worse

1. comparative form of bad: more bad

Derived terms

Related terms

• worst

Translations

Adverb

worse

1. comparative form of badly (adverb): more badly
2. Less skillfully.
3. More severely or seriously.
4. (sentence adverb) Used to start a sentence describing something that is worse.

Translations

Noun

worse

1. (obsolete) Loss; disadvantage; defeat
2. That which is worse; something less good.

Verb

worse (third-person singular simple present worses, present participle worsing, simple past and past participle worsed)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To make worse; to put at disadvantage; to discomfit.

References

Anagrams

• Rowse, WOREs, owers, owres, resow, rowse, serow, sower, sowre, swore

Afrikaans

Noun

worse

1. plural of wors

Chinese

Alternative forms

• worst

Etymology

From English worse or worst.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wœs⁵⁵/

Adjective

worse

1. (Hong Kong Cantonese) bad; terrible (usually used with intensifier 好)

Middle English

Alternative forms

• wars, warse, weers, weorse, werce, wers, werse, wershe, wersse, wirse, wors, worsse
• wærse, werrse, wrse, wurse (Early Middle English)

Etymology

From Old English wiersa, from Proto-West Germanic *wirssō, variant of *wirsiʀō, from Proto-Germanic *wirsizô. Doublet of werre (“worse”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwurs(ə)/, /ˈwɛrs(ə)/
• (later Northern) IPA^(key): /ˈwars/

Adjective

worse

1. comparative degree of yvel
2. comparative degree of ille

Descendants

• English: worse
  • → Cantonese: worse (Hong Kong)
• Scots: warse

References

• “werse, adj. (comparative).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Adverb

worse

1. comparative degree of yvel (adverb)
2. comparative degree of ille (adverb)

Descendants

• English: worse
• Scots: warse

References

• “werse, adv. comparative.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Noun

worse (uncountable)

1. Something or someone which is more yvel or ille (i.e. worse).

Related terms

• worsen

Descendants

• English: worse
• Scots: warse

References

• “wers(e, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.