Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1500-1600
Language: Late Latin
Origin: deteriorare, from Latin deterior 'worse'

deteriorate

 verb
     
de‧te‧ri‧o‧rate [intransitive]
1 to become worse:
Ethel's health has deteriorated.
America's deteriorating economy
2

deteriorate into something

to develop into a bad or worse situation:
The argument deteriorated into a fight.
—deterioration noun [uncountable]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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