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| Main Entry: |
deteriorate
 [dih-teer-ee-uh-reyt] 
|
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | decay, degenerate |
| Synonyms: | adulterate, alloy, be worse for wear, become worse, break, corrode, corrupt, crumble, debase, debilitate, decline, decompose, degrade, deprave, depreciate, descend, disimprove, disintegrate, ebb, fade, fail, fall apart, flag, go downhill, go to pieces, go to pot, go to the dogs, hit the skids, impair, injure, languish, lapse, lessen, lose it, lose quality, lower, mar, pervert, regress, retrograde, retrogress, rot, sink, skid, slide, spoil, undermine, vitiate, weaken, wear away, worsen |
| Notes: | to degenerate means 'to decline in value, move lower on a scale' but to deteriorate means 'to worsen, to become lowered, or be reduced in value'; degenerate pertains more to character and virtue while deteriorate is more about loss of strength or vitality |
| Antonyms: | build, construct, develop, get better, improve |
| Main Entry: | adulterate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | alter or debase, often for profit |
| Synonyms: | alloy, amalgamate, attenuate, blend, cheapen, commingle, contaminate, cook, corrupt, cut*, defile, degrade, denature, depreciate, deteriorate, devalue, dilute, dissolve, doctor up, doctor*, falsify, impair, infiltrate, intermix, irrigate, lace, make impure, mingle, mix, phony up, plant*, pollute, shave, spike*, taint, thin, transfuse, vitiate, water down, weaken |
| Antonyms: | clarify, clean, cleanse, distill, filter, free, purify, refine |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | adulterated |
| Part of Speech: | adjective |
| Definition: | debased or dirty |
| Synonyms: | attenuated, blended, contaminated, corrupt, defiled, degraded, depreciated, deteriorated, devalued, diluted, dissolved, impaired, mixed, polluted, tainted, thinned, vitiated, watered down, weakened |
| Antonyms: | clean, moral, virtuous |
Example Sentences
- Unfortunately, while in physical rehabilitation, her other organs deteriorated.
- Most problematic of all, prospects for a cap-and-trade bill this year have deteriorated.
- Then there was the delicate matter of cleaning the deteriorated wool fibers.
| Main Entry: | age |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | become older |
| Synonyms: | decline, deteriorate, develop, get along, grow, grow feeble, grow old, grow up, mature, mellow, push, put mileage on, ripen, wane |
| Notes: | epoch applies to the beginning of a new period marked by radical changes and new developments - while era applies to the entire period; age denotes a period identified with some dominant personality or characteristic and period pertains to any portion of time |
| Main Entry: | bite |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | corrode, eat away |
| Synonyms: | burn, consume, decay, decompose, deteriorate, dissolve, eat into, engrave, erode, etch, oxidize, rot, rust, scour, sear, slash, smart, sting, tingle, wear away |
| Main Entry: | come down |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | worsen |
| Synonyms: | decline, decrease, degenerate, descend, deteriorate, fail, fall, go downhill, reduce, suffer |
| Antonyms: | boost, improve |
| Main Entry: | corrode |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | wear away; eat away |
| Synonyms: | bite, canker, consume, corrupt, destroy, deteriorate, erode, gnaw, impair, oxidize, rot, rust, scour, waste |
| Antonyms: | aid, build, fortify, help |
| Main Entry: | crack up |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | break down mentally |
| Synonyms: | become demented, become psychotic, blow a fuse, collapse, come apart at seams, decline, derange, deteriorate, fail, flip out, freak out, go bonkers, go crazy, go nuts, go off deep end, go off rocker, go out of mind, go to pieces, have breakdown, schizz out, sicken |
| Antonyms: | be calm |
| Main Entry: | crumble |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | break or fall into pieces |
| Synonyms: | break up, collapse, crumb, crush, decay, decompose, degenerate, deteriorate, disintegrate, dissolve, fragment, go to pieces, granulate, grind, molder, perish, powder, pulverize, putrefy, triturate, tumble |
| Antonyms: | build, put together |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2012 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved.
