Worseningly

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that becomes progressively more severe or adverse over time, indicating a gradual decline in condition or quality
2. Describing an increasing degree of deterioration or negative change as events or circumstances develop
3. Expressing the process of something intensifying negatively or growing steadily worse in effect or status

Etymology: "Worseningly" is a plain formation: the adjective "worsening," meaning becoming more bad, plus the suffix "-ly," which turns an adjective into an adverb of manner. "Worsening" itself is the present participle of the verb "worsen," formed from "worse" with the suffix "-en," which makes verbs meaning "to become" something. "Worse" comes from Old English "wiersa," a comparative form related to "wyrs," meaning bad or inferior, so the word carries the same comparative shape as "better" and "more." The adverb is a late and uncommon formation. The "-ly" suffix is productive, so English speakers could build it on demand, and "worsening" as an adjective was in use by the 19th century. Its use is mostly confined to describing how a situation is changing, as in "the economy declined worseningly."

Synonyms: deterioratingly, decliningly, degeneratively, regressively, decayingly

Antonyms: improvingly, bettering, amelioratingly, advancing, progressively