What does deteriorate mean?
Word: Deteriorate
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Deteriorate means to become gradually worse in quality, condition or strength.
Synonyms: worsen, decline, decay
Antonyms: recover
How do you spell deteriorate?
Syllables: de - te - ri - o - rate
Tricky part: Many people say it with only four syllables and so leave a chunk out when they write it.
Watch out for: detoriorate, deteriorite, deteriate
Memory tip: An old house falls apart from the inside: its interior deteriorates, and both words share terior.
Deteriorate in a sentence
Example 1: The patient's condition began to deteriorate during the night, so the nurse called the doctor.
Example 2: Without regular oiling, the bicycle chain will deteriorate and rust.
Example 3: Air quality in some big cities deteriorates sharply in early winter.
Fun Fact
Cheap paper made from wood pulp contains acids that make it turn yellow and brittle. That is why old newspapers deteriorate much faster than books printed on acid-free paper.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
deteriorate
a) improve
b) crumble
c) fade
d) weaken
Show answer
a) improve. Things that deteriorate get worse; things that improve get better.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Old photographs kept in a damp cupboard slowly diteriorate and lose much of their colour.
a) cupboard
b) colour
c) photographs
d) diteriorate
Show answer
d) diteriorate. It starts with de, as in decline and decay.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) illumminate
b) collabrate
c) apreciate
d) deteriorate
Show answer
d) deteriorate. Appreciate wants pp, illuminate a single m and collaborate its missing o, so only deteriorate is right.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. After the monsoon, the road had deteriorated badly. What would drivers notice?
a) deep potholes and cracks
b) wider lanes and footpaths
c) a smooth new surface
d) fresh white lane lines
Show answer
a) deep potholes and cracks
2. Left out in the rain for a week, which of these would deteriorate first?
a) a glass bottle
b) a stone statue
c) a cardboard box
d) a steel spoon
Show answer
c) a cardboard box
