† deterioratedeterioratadj.
Scottish.
Made worse, deteriorated.
ΚΠ
1572 Sc. Acts Jas. VI (1814) 76 (Jam.) That all houses, &c., rewinit, cassin doun, distroyit, or deteriorat, within..the said burghe—sall be reparit.
1598 in J. Row Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1842) 190 If he hes meliorat or deteriorat his benefice any way to the prejudice of his successor.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
deterioratev.
/dɪˈtɪərɪəreɪt/ 1. transitive. To make worse or of inferior quality; to lower in character or excellence; to worsen.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [verb (transitive)] > in quality or character
defade1423
debase1569
deteriorate1572
welk1579
bastardize1587
invile1599
winter1622
disimprove1642
degenerate1645
deterior1646
imbastardize1649
degrade1652
honeycomb1821
travesty1825
1572 [implied in: Sc. Acts Jas. VI (1814) 76 (Jam.) That all houses, &c., rewinit, cassin doun, distroyit, or deteriorat, within..the said burghe—sall be reparit. (at deteriorate adj.)].
1598 [implied in: 1598 in J. Row Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1842) 190 If he hes meliorat or deteriorat his benefice any way to the prejudice of his successor. (at deteriorate adj.)].
1644 J. Maxwell Sacro-sancta Regum Majestas i. 10 How much more they deteriorate and depresse Kings.
1672 O. Walker Of Educ. i. v. 46 Not onely not bettered, but much deteriorated.
1784 W. Cowper Let. 10 Feb. (1981) II. 213 A long line of grandsires, who from generation to generation have been employed in deteriorating the breed.
1813 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1838) X. 380 Maintained by means..which will deteriorate the discipline of the troops.
1847 C. G. Addison Treat. Law Contracts (1883) ii. iii. §2 603 To deteriorate the value of the property.
1879 M. Arnold G. Sand in Mixed Ess. 343 Equality, as its reign proceeded, had not deteriorated but improved them.
2. intransitive. To grow worse in character; to become lowered or impaired in quality or value; to degenerate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [verb (intransitive)]
worseeOE
aswindc885
worsena1250
appair1340
impair1340
fainta1375
pairc1390
vade1471
decay1511
decline1530
degenerate1545
lapse1641
addle1654
sunset1656
deteriorate1758
worst1781
descend1829
disimprove1846
slush1882
devolute1893
worser1894
1758–65 O. Goldsmith Ess. (L.) Under such conditions the mind rapidly deteriorates.
1841 I. D'Israeli Amenities Lit. II. 57 Elyot had a notion that, for the last thousand years, the world had deteriorated.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 22 The condition of the labourer was at this period deteriorating rapidly.
1892 Kath. Tynan in Speaker 3 Sept. 290/1 The roses..will deteriorate year after year, returning gradually to wildness.
Derivatives
deˈteriorated adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [adjective]
werrarc1475
worser1495
decayeda1522
derogate1608
depraved1610
deteriorated1656
worserer1720
worsened1822
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Deteriorated, made worse, impaired; spoiled.
a1691 R. Boyle Wks. (1772) IV. 367 Which we concluded to have proceeded from the deteriorated metal.
1837 S. Smith Let. to Singleton in Wks. (1859) II. 292/2 Judging, that the Church is a very altered and deteriorated profession.
deˈteriorating n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > worse > [adjective] > making or tending to
downhill1565
declining1597
deformative1641
deteriorative1800
exhaustive1817
worsening1835
deteriorating1836
degenerative1846
1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. vi. 235 Classical story has imperceptibly lent its deteriorating influence.
1883 F. Hall in Nation (N.Y.) 37 434/3 The deteriorating, if not debasing, mode of existence.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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adj.1572
v.1572