Deterioration

How to spell deterioration

13 letters · 6 syllables

How to pronounce deterioration

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does deterioration mean?

1. nounThe process of becoming progressively worse in condition, quality, or value.

Deterioration in a sentence

• The surveyor noted serious deterioration in the roof timbers.

• Years of neglect led to a steady deterioration of the road surface.

Where does deterioration come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin adjective deterior, meaning 'worse' or 'lower in quality', which itself grew out of an older sense of moving downward or away. From deterior came the late Latin verb deteriorare, 'to make or grow worse', and from that the noun deterioratio, describing the process of worsening. English drew the verb 'deteriorate' from this stock in the early 1600s, and the noun 'deterioration' followed soon after to name the gradual decline itself. The spelling trap lives in the middle: the unstressed '-terio-' cluster hides a vowel sequence that is easy to mangle, and the single 'r' there tempts writers who expect a doubled letter. Knowing the root is deterior, 'worse', helps fix that 'terior' spelling in mind.

How the word is built

• deterior- (from Latin deterior: worse)
• -ate (verb)
• -ion (noun of process)