empeorar

to worsen

verb ehm-peh-oh-RAHR Rare

Also means

to get worse

Usage Note

Empeorar is both transitive (to make something worse: la lluvia empeoró la situación) and intransitive (to become worse: su estado empeoró). Its antonym is mejorar (to improve). The prefix em- (from en- + peor, 'worse') makes the word's structure transparent once you know peor.

Examples

"El tiempo empeoró por la tarde."

Natural Translation

The weather worsened in the afternoon.

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