(a) More evilly, more sinfully, more wrongfully; also, more cruelly, more savagely; don (werken) ~; don ~ and ~, to act more and more sinfully; (b) less mercifully, more unkindly.

(a) More unpleasantly, more grievously, more dreadfully; more harmfully, more painfully; also, with intensive force [the precise gloss is highly contextual]: more acutely, more intensely, more; ~ and ~, progressively more painfully; ~ willed, more ill-willed; (b) with verbs of speaking, thinking, judging, etc.: with harsher words or judgment, more critically, more unfavorably; (c) more poorly in condition or situation; more unfortunately, more adversely; more miserably, more sorrowfully; faren (the) ~; ~ bigon, more woebegone; the ~ ich the se, the worse for seeing you; faren the leng the ~, to fare more and more badly.

Less perfectly, less conscientiously, less faithfully; less accurately; less pleasingly; less skillfully, more inadequately; less readily; less well; ben ~ plesed, to be less pleased; ben the ~ disposed, be less disposed (to sth.); ben the ~ paied of wages, be the worse paid with regard to wages; also, in impers. construction: the ~ hath likede me, so much the worse for me.

(a) In generalizing expressions indicating the full range of possible alternatives: bettre or ~; do thou bettre do thou ~, come what may; mouen thei ~ mouen thei bet, however they fare; (b) in proverbs.