Get worse means to become worse: about health, the weather, a situation or a relationship. Get with an adjective shows a change, as in get tired or get colder. About rain, pain or noise, get worse often means 'become stronger': The pain got worse. Become worse is also correct, but in conversation get worse is more common.
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get worse; get worse and worse; be getting worse; make + something + worse
- My cough got worse at night, so I finally went to the doctor.
- Traffic in the city centre gets worse every year.
- If the rain gets worse, we'll cancel the picnic and watch a film instead.
What changed
First versionMy English got more worse after I stopped practising.
RevisionMy English got worse after I stopped practising.
Worse is already the comparative form of bad. Putting more in front of it doubles the comparison, like saying more bigger. To show that something keeps getting worse, repeat the word itself: worse and worse.
Get worse means something becomes worse by itself: The situation got worse. If someone or something causes it, use make: Stress makes my headaches worse. To say that someone made a situation worse, you need make the situation worse; get doesn't work here.
Your turn
The weather was bad on Saturday, and on Sunday it got even ___.
Show the answer
worse — Two days are compared, and even points to the comparative: even worse. Worst means 'worse than all the others' and goes with the: the worst day of the week.
Write about something that has got worse in your town or at work in recent years. Be specific, and say what you think the reason is.
Parking near our office has got worse since the company hired fifty new people.
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