WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
de•te•ri•o•ra•tion
(di tēr′ē ə rā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026- the act or process of deteriorating.
- the state or condition of having deteriorated.
- a gradual decline, as in quality, serviceability, or vigor.
- Late Latin dēteriōrātiōn- (stem of dēteriōrātiō), equivalent. to dēteriōrāt(us) (see deteriorate) + -iōn- -ion
- 1650–60
de•te•ri•o•rate /dɪˈtɪriəˌreɪt/USA pronunciation
v. [no object], -rat•ed, -rat•ing.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- to become worse or inferior in character:The patient's condition has deteriorated over the last few hours.
de•te•ri•o•rate
(di tēr′ē ə rāt′),USA pronunciation v.t., v.i., -rat•ed, -rat•ing.
de•te′ri•o•ra′tive, adj.
- to make or become worse or inferior in character, quality, value, etc.
- to disintegrate or wear away.
- Late Latin dēteriōrātus made worse (past participle of dēteriōrāre), equivalent. to Latin dēterior worse (dē from + -ter- formative in adjs. of spatial orientation (compare exterior, interior) + -ior comparative suffix) + -ātus -ate1
- 1565–75
- 1. degenerate, decline, worsen.
'deterioration' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
additive
- antioxidant
- corrosion
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
- decadence
- decline
- dementia
- imperishable
- irradiate
- muscular dystrophy
- pejoration
- slide
- wear
- weatherproof
- biodeterioration
- decay
- declension
- declination
- degenerate
- dégringolade
- development
- downtick
- failure
- fatty degeneration
- foreign relations
- general paralysis
- hebephrenia
- Huntington's chorea
- injure
- Niemann-Pick disease
- nonperishable
- parkinsonism
- proof
- PSD
- re-form
- retrogradation
- retrograde
- vacuum
- wear and tear
- wearproof
- schizophrenia
- senile
- Silastic
- skid
- slump
- stability
- stabilizer
- stable
- symptomatic