versnað

Versnað is an Icelandic term meaning to deteriorate, to worsen, or to decline. It is the past participle form of the verb versna and is used in compound tenses with the auxiliary hafa (to have) to indicate a deterioration that has occurred. For example, veðrið hefur versnað means the weather has worsened. The form can also appear adjectivally to describe a state that has become worse, though in practice speakers often use a finite verb such as versnar or versnaðist.

The sense covers a wide range of contexts: weather and natural conditions, health, economic or social conditions, and other situations where a condition has worsened over time. Versnað implies a change from a previous, comparatively better or more stable state to a worse one, and it typically denotes an undesirable development.

Etymology: versnað derives from the verb versna, which itself comes from Old Norse and is cognate with similar Nordic verbs such as Norwegian versne and Swedish versna.

Usage notes: The present tense is versnar (it worsens); the past tense is versnaðist (it deteriorated); the past participle is versnað and appears in perfect tenses with hafa (has/have). In formal writing, versna is the standard main verb, with versnað used in the compound or adjectival sense as needed.

Examples:

- Veðrið hefur versnað síðustu daga.

- Aðstæður hafa versnað í kjölfar efnahagsáfallsins.