Improved

How to spell improved

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce improved

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does improved mean?

1. verbMade something better in quality, value, or condition (past tense and past participle of improve).
2. adjectiveDescribing something that is now better than it was before.

Improved in a sentence

• verb

  The new manager improved morale across the whole department.

• adjective

  The improved design uses less power and runs more quietly.

• verb

  Regular practice steadily improved her handwriting over the term.

• adjective

  Customers welcomed the improved service at the local branch.

Where does improved come from?

Language of origin: French

The word descends from the Latin prefix in- combined with a root tied to the Old French phrase 'a prou', meaning 'to advantage' or 'to profit', which itself traces back to the Latin prode, 'beneficial' or 'useful'. Middle English borrowed the verb 'improve' in the sense of making land more productive or turning something to profit, and only later did it broaden to mean making anything better. The past form 'improved' simply adds the regular -ed ending. A useful relative is the word 'prove', which shares the Latin probare, 'to test or demonstrate as good', and that link explains the silent feel of the 'prov' core. The spelling trap is the single 'p' after 'im-' and the unstressed -ed ending, which the ear barely registers after the voiced 'v'.

How the word is built

• im- (in, into)
• prov (from Latin probare/prode: to make better, advantage)
• -ed (past tense/participle suffix)