make worse
Add to troubles
To make worse is to cause something to deteriorate or decline in quality, condition, or severity.
A bad situation can be made worse by poor decisions: Arguing only made things worse.
The phrase often appears with intensifiers: You're making it even worse.
Unlike worsen, which can happen on its own, make worse implies an agent or cause.
- worsenBecome more severe
- aggravateMake more severe
- exacerbateMake a situation worse
- add fuel to the fireWorsen an already tense situation
- fan the flamesDeliberately worsen a dispute
deteriorate · damage · harm · deepen · intensify · escalate · inflame · compound · amplify · sour · poison · taint · ruin · spoil · corrupt · fester · rot · decay