Expressions To Express The Unpleasant Situations or Ordeals

‘Get worse’ is the most common way of expressing bad situations or unpleasant experiences. However, this post includes different expressions to talk about the situations getting worse.

The verb ‘deteriorate’ and its related noun deterioration are also used but are a little more formal:

Example: After realizing that his speaking skills deteriorated, he joined Wabs Talk and it really helped.

Note: The verb worsen is also formal. Unlike deteriorate, which is only intransitive, worsen can be intransitive or transitive:

The idiom ‘gone downhill’: More informally we use the idiom gone downhill.

Example: This hotel has really gone downhill since the last time I stayed here.

The informal idiom ‘go to the dogs’

It is used when something (such as a country or an organisation) has become much worse than it was in the past:

Example: A gambler is sure to the dogs.

The idiom ‘gone to pot’

We say very informally that something has gone to pot when it has not been cared for or worked on:

Example: I am thinking to join ‘Public Speaking Course’ because I feel that my confidence has gone to the pot.

The idiom ‘half the thing he/she/it used to be’

Another phrase that means that a person, thing or place is in a much worse state than before is to say that someone or something is not half the (thing) it/he/she used to be:

Example: This resortā€™s not half the place it used to be.

The formal verb ‘exacerbate’ means to make an already bad situation even worse:

Example: The chemicals exacerbated my skin condition.

‘To make matters worse’

Another phrase that talks about a bad situation becoming even worse is to make matters worse:

Example: I had locked myself out and, to make matters worse, I didnā€™t have a phone.

The phrase ‘add fuel to the fire’.

The phrase adds fuel to the fire also describes making a bad or difficult situation worse:

Example: With many calling for his resignation, these latest accusations only add fuel to the fire.

Finally, two nice verbs to use when talking about something or someone gradually getting worse are descend into and lapse into:

Example: The meeting descended into chaos.

Example: My maiden speech at Wabstalk have lapsed into because I delivered it off hand.

I hope that all these ways of talking about things getting worse will help you!

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