deterioration
/dɪˌtɪəɹɪəˈɹeɪʃən/US/dɪˌtɪɹ.i.əˈɹeɪ.ʃən/
deterioration noun: the process of making or growing worse, or the state of having grown worse.
Noun
deterioration (countable and uncountable, plural deteriorations)
- The process of making or growing worse, or the state of having grown worse.
- From 1945 onwards, deterioration in the condition of the brickwork in the arch soffits was kept under close observation, and in 1951 it was decided that strengthening must be undertaken.1954 January, “Strengthening of Coquet Viaduct”, in Railway Magazine, page 18
- The Queen may be celebrating her jubilee but the Queen's English Society, which has railed against the misuse and deterioration of the English language, is to fold.2012 June 4, Lewis Smith, “Queen’s English Society says enuf is enough, innit?: Society formed 40 years ago to protect language against poor spelling and grammar closes because too few people care”...
- Synonyms:
- aggravation, retrogression, worsening, corruption, debasement, degeneration, degradation, devolution, embasement, exacerbation
- Antonyms:
- amelioration
deterioration meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali
deterioration in Hindi
- process of making or growing worse
- अपघटन apaghṭan
deterioration in Tamil
- process of making or growing worse
- சீரழிவு cīraḻivu
deterioration in Urdu
- انحطاط پذیری
deterioration in Bengali
- অবনতি
More languagesFewer languages
- deterioration in Malayalam
- കൊള്ളരുതാത്തതാക്കൽ, ക്ഷയം, അധഃപതനം, വഷളാകൽ
- deterioration in Malay
- kemunduran, kemerosotan
- deterioration in Indonesian
- kemunduran, kemerosotan
Examples of deterioration in a sentence
- "The quantum sensors will provide highly accurate measurements that will help to detect the rate of change of the track and subsequently, any deteriorations which might lead to faults."2020 November 18, “Network News: Researchers team up on navigation data system”, in RAIL, page 23:
- But the firm noted concrete deterioration deep within the pool’s wall and corbel, a type of support structure, requiring “aggressive excavation of concrete.”2021 July 2, Eliott C. McLaughlin, Alta Spells, Francesca Giuliani-Hoffman, “Firm held off on repairs because of stability issues in months...
- V-Dem lists the characteristics of autocratization as deteriorations in freedom of expression, the decline of free and fair elections, and the centralization of authority.2025 September 16, “Can democracy survive without America?”, in The Hankyoreh, archived from the original on 15 Nov 2025:
Synonyms of deterioration
- aggravation
- retrogression
- worsening
- corruption
- debasement
- degeneration
- degradation
- devolution
- exacerbation
- ruining
3 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Antonyms
Forms of deterioration
| plural | deteriorations |
|---|
Origin of deterioration
Borrowed from French détérioration; morphologically deteriorate + -ion.
Words formed from deterioration
Words that rhyme with deterioration
- station
- collation
- accommodation
- presentation
- derivation
- information
- modulation
- translation
- application
- fixation
- generation
- orientation
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- citation
- combination
- communication
- conjugation
- constellation
- determination
- elevation
- operation
- relation
- reservation
- alternation
- condensation
- conversation
- deviation
- excavation
- foliation
- formation
- foundation
- incarnation
- interpretation
- representation
- retardation
- speculation
- termination
- abbreviation
- adaptation
- articulation
- bifurcation
- concentration
- congregation
- declination
- degradation
- expectation
- extenuation
- gradation
- observation
- population
- preparation
- reconciliation
- rotation
- separation
- situation
- vexation
- vindication
- accumulation
- administration
- aggregation
- appropriation
Questions about deterioration
- What does deterioration mean?
- Deterioration means the process of making or growing worse, or the state of having grown worse.
- What is deterioration in Hindi?
- Deterioration in Hindi is अपघटन (apaghṭan). See Deterioration meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use deterioration in a sentence?
- "The quantum sensors will provide highly accurate measurements that will help to detect the rate of change of the track and subsequently, any deteriorations which might lead to faults."
- What part of speech is deterioration?
- Deterioration is a noun.
- How do you pronounce deterioration?
- Deterioration is pronounced /dɪˌtɪəɹɪəˈɹeɪʃən/ (UK).
- What is the plural of deterioration?
- The plural of deterioration is deteriorations.
Words near deterioration in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: deterioration (page history and authors); deterioration (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); deterioration (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); deterioration (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-deterioration.wav.
Cite this entry: “deterioration.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/deterioration. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.