worse
part of speech
adjective, comparative of bad (bad, worse, worst); adverb, comparative of badly (badly, worse, worst)
meaning for a pupil
1) Worse means more bad, of lower quality, or more unpleasant than something else. tree →
2) Worse means more ill: «He felt worse in the night». tree →
3) As an adverb, worse means more badly: «She sang worse than before». tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday life and health, «getting worse» about an illness means it is time to see a doctor. In stories, things getting worse builds tension. In maths and data, «worse» compares results: a lower score is worse in a test, but in golf or a race time a bigger number is worse. Phrases: «worse and worse», «even worse», «to make matters worse», «worse off» (in a worse situation), «none the worse».
examples
- My cold is worse today. tree →
- This weather is worse than yesterday's. tree →
- To make things worse, I forgot my umbrella. tree →
- His handwriting is getting worse and worse. tree →
- Don't scratch the bite or it will get worse. tree →
- Lying only made it worse. tree →
- She played worse than usual. tree →
- Things could be worse! tree →
- He gives another puff--worse than ever! tree →
note
Irregular: bad → worse → worst. Never say «badder» or «more bad». «Worse» compares two things; «worst» is the most bad of all. Opposite: better. Do not confuse «worse» with «worst» or «verse».
In the corpora
- Inflation means prices rise over time, so the same pound buys less; if pay rises more slowly, families are worse off.
- The silent treatment usually makes things worse, and children should not have to carry messages between upset grown-ups.
- Speed limits exist because faster cars cause worse accidents, especially near schools and homes.
- Laughing kindly with someone who tripped is fine; laughing at them makes their embarrassment worse.
- Planning to hide cheating is worse than making a mistake.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «worse» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.