To become worse or to make something worse in quality, condition, or severity.
From Old English 'wyrse' meaning 'worse,' with the suffix '-en' added to create a verb form. This verb-forming pattern was common in English, turning adjectives into action words.
English has this clever system where you can take almost any adjective and add '-en' to make it a verb—like 'darken,' 'lighten,' or 'cheapen.' It's a linguistic shortcut that's been working for over a thousand years.
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