Worseners

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person or thing that makes a situation worse or more severe
2. An entity that contributes to the deterioration or decline of a condition or state
3. An agent or factor that exacerbates an issue, leading to negative outcomes

Etymology: "Worseners" is simply the plural of "worsener," a noun meaning something that causes deterioration. It is built from "worsen," a verb meaning to make or become worse, with the suffix "-er" attached to name the thing doing the making worse. The base verb "worsen" is itself a formation from "worse," the comparative of "bad," with the suffix "-en" added to turn an adjective into a verb meaning to become or make more of a certain quality. The suffix "-er" then turns the verb into a noun for an agent, so a "worsener" is literally a thing that worsens. Because the pattern is so regular, the noun is easy to coin on demand and rarely appears in dictionaries outside of specialist or informal use.