(a) More deficient in virtue, of baser character, more sinful, morally worse; also, as noun: a baser person [quot. a1400 Cursor]; a group of more dubious character [quot. c1450 ?C.d’Orl.]; (b) more wicked, more culpable, more reprehensible, more to be eschewed; ai ~ and ~, progressively more reprehensible.

(a) More unfortunate, more unhappy, more to be dreaded; the ~ partie (honde), the less desirable outcome, the losing end (hand); (b) more grievous, more severe; (c) more troublesome, more difficult; ~ to amenden, the ~ to helen, more resistant to correction, less amenable to treatment.

(a) Inferior in quality, bad; (b) as noun: the less well-favored person, the inferior one.

In misc. phrases with ben v.: (a) ben (the) ~, to be (any the) worse for a given circumstance; of a situation: deteriorate; (b) ben muchel the ~, to be at a disadvantage, come off the worse.