Third person singular present tense of deteriorate; becomes progressively worse in quality, condition, or value.
From Latin deteriorare (to make worse), combining de- (down) and deterior (worse), which is comparative form of deterus; entered English in the 16th century.
Entropy and deterioration fascinated Victorian scientists because they were discovering that all organized systems naturally deteriorate over time—a principle that would become the Second Law of Thermodynamics.
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