← Back to Fala2Me

make worse

[/meɪk wɜːrs/]
verb phrase
piorar
1. to cause something to become more bad, severe, or unpleasant
Adding more salt will make the situation worse.
Adicionar mais sal vai piorar a situação.
2. to aggravate or exacerbate a problem or condition
The medication made his condition worse.
O medicamento piorou sua condição.
3. to deteriorate the quality or state of something
Lack of sleep makes everything worse.
A falta de sono piora tudo.
Synonyms
aggravateexacerbateworsendeterioratecompound
Antonyms
improveameliorateenhancebettermake better

Regional Variations

General Brazilian
piorar
most common usage across Brazil
Rio de Janeiro
piorar
standard usage, may also use 'agravar'
São Paulo
piorar / agravar
both terms widely used
Portugal
piorar / agravar
both common in European Portuguese

Related Idioms & Phrases

make matters worse
make bad to worse
add insult to injury
go from bad to worse
Look up more words on Fala2Me
The free English-Portuguese dictionary with real Brazilian accents, NYC slang, conjugator and more
Open Fala2Me →