Basic Details
Word: Deteriorated
Part of Speech: Verb
Meaning: Became worse in quality, condition or strength over a period of time.
Synonyms: worsened, declined, degenerated, decayed
Antonyms: improved, recovered
Word origin: From Latin deteriorare, to make worse, from deterior, worse.
How to Spell Deteriorated
Syllables: de - te - ri - o - rat - ed
Tricky part: The or in the middle is often dropped in speech, so students write deteriated or detoriated. All five beats of deteriorate must be written before ed.
Watch out for: deteriated, detoriated, deterierated
Memory tip: Deterior is Latin for worse, and it is built just like superior and inferior. Keep that ior, then add ated.
Usage Examples
Example 1: My grandfather's eyesight deteriorated so much that he needed a magnifying glass to read.
Example 2: The road deteriorated badly after the monsoon, with potholes on every bend.
Example 3: Relations between the two neighbours deteriorated after the quarrel over the wall.
Fun Fact
Rust is a common example of deterioration: iron slowly breaks down when it reacts with oxygen and water.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
By the third day of the trek the weather had deteriated so badly that the guides turned the whole group back towards base camp.
a) guides
b) whole
c) weather
d) deteriated
Show answer
d) deteriated. The verb has lost a beat: it should run de-te-ri-o-rat-ed, with or in the middle.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word deteriorated as used in the sentence:
Her handwriting deteriorated when she started rushing through her exam answers.
a) slipped
b) improved
c) worsened
d) declined
Show answer
b) improved. Worsened, declined and slipped all mean the same as the word; only improved goes the other way.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The old fort had rotedaterdie after centuries of neglect and heavy rain.
a) deteriorated
b) determined
c) decorated
d) detonated
Show answer
a) deteriorated. There are twelve letters in the jumble, more than decorated, detonated or determined can use.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. If a patient's health has deteriorated, the patient is ____.
a) the same as before
b) getting worse
c) fully cured
d) getting better
Show answer
b) getting worse
2. Over years in the rain, the thing most likely to rust and deteriorate is ____.
a) a plastic bucket
b) a glass marble
c) a granite step
d) an iron gate
Show answer
d) an iron gate
