# deteriorate

Pronunciation: say "di-TEER-ee-uh-rayt" US /dɪˈtɪɹ.iə.ɹeɪt/, UK /dɪˈtɪə.ɹɪə.ɹeɪt/

## Verb

1. To grow worse; to become impaired in quality or condition, or to degenerate.
   - Simple: To slowly become worse in condition or quality.
   - _Relations between the two countries continued to deteriorate after the border dispute._
   - _The bridge's structural integrity had deteriorated to a dangerous degree._
2. To make worse; to lower the quality or value of something; to impair it.
   - Simple: To make something worse or lower in quality.
   - _Repeated washing can deteriorate the fabric's strength._
   - _Constant exposure to moisture had deteriorated the manuscript's pages._

## Origin

A learned borrowing from Late Latin "dēteriorātus", from the verb "dēteriorō", which comes from Latin "dēterior" meaning "worse". It is related to French "détériorer".

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/deteriorate (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).