Klryz
Pronunciation guide: IPA symbols, stress and word endings

Vowels

iːseeɪsite / ɛbedæcat
ɑːfatherɒhot (UK)ɔːlawʊput
uːtooʌcupɜːbirdəabout
eɪdayaɪmyɔɪboyaʊnow
əʊ / oʊgo (UK / US)ɪəneareəhairʊətour

Consonants that look unusual

θthinðthisʃsheʒmeasure
tʃchurchdʒjudgeŋsingjyes

p b t d k g f v s z h m n l r w sound as in ordinary English spelling.

Marks

  • ˈ main stress, before the stressed syllable: /ˈwɔːtə/ water · ˌ lighter (secondary) stress: /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ understand
  • ː a long vowel · (r) an r said only in accents that pronounce it (most American, Scottish, Irish)

Common word endings

  • -s / -es (plurals; he/she form of verbs): /s/ after voiceless sounds (cats), /z/ after voiced (dogs), /ɪz/ after s, z, sh, ch, j sounds (buses, watches). Spelling: -es after s, x, z, ch, sh; consonant + y → -ies (city → cities).
  • -ed (past): /t/ after voiceless sounds (walked), /d/ after voiced (played), /ɪd/ after t or d (wanted). Spelling: love → loved, stop → stopped, carry → carried.
  • -ing: make → making, run → running, see → seeing.
  • Irregular: go, went, gone · be, was, been · see, saw, seen · man → men · child → children · mouse → mice.
  • Older (King James) forms: -eth = -s (he loveth = he loves) · -est with “thou” (thou lovest) · spake = spoke.

English Dictionary · 107,383 entries · Sources & licences

worsen

UK /ˈwɜːsn̩/ · US /ˈwɝsn̩/ verb

Forms worsens worsening worsened

  1. verb (transitive) To make worse; to impair. “Global warming has worsened the weather.”
  2. verb (intransitive) To become worse; to get worse. “The weather has worsened.”
  3. verb (transitive, obsolete) To get the better of; to worst.

Synonyms

aggravate exacerbate degrade deteriorate adulterate alloy canker contaminate corrupt debase debauch defile deflower downgrade envenom exasperate infect impair leaven pejorate decline

Antonyms

ameliorate improve meliorate mitigate better

Etymology

From Middle English wursnen; equivalent to worse + -en.

Webster’s 1913

  1. verb To make worse; to deteriorate; to impair.
  2. verb To get the better of; to worst. [R.]
  3. verb To grow or become worse. De Quincey.

Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “worsen”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details