better – English verb conjugation

English verb forms of better

Nominal Forms

Infinitive: to better
Participle: bettered
Gerund: bettering

Cognates

-

Indicative

Present

I	better
you	better
he;she;it	betters
we	better
you	better
they	better

Perfect

I	have bettered
you	have bettered
he;she;it	has bettered
we	have bettered
you	have bettered
they	have bettered

Past

I	bettered
you	bettered
he;she;it	bettered
we	bettered
you	bettered
they	bettered

Pluperfect

I	had bettered
you	had bettered
he;she;it	had bettered
we	had bettered
you	had bettered
they	had bettered

Future

I	will better
you	will better
he;she;it	will better
we	will better
you	will better
they	will better

Future Perfect

I	will have bettered
you	will have bettered
he;she;it	will have bettered
we	will have bettered
you	will have bettered
they	will have bettered

Subjunctive

Present

I	better
you	better
he;she;it	better
we	better
you	better
they	better

Perfect

I	have bettered
you	have bettered
he;she;it	have bettered
we	have bettered
you	have bettered
they	have bettered

Imperfect

I	bettered
you	bettered
he;she;it	bettered
we	bettered
you	bettered
they	bettered

Pluperfect

I	had bettered
you	had bettered
he;she;it	had bettered
we	had bettered
you	had bettered
they	had bettered

Conditional

Present

I	would better
you	would better
he;she;it	would better
we	would better
you	would better
they	would better

Perfect

I	would have bettered
you	would have bettered
he;she;it	would have bettered
we	would have bettered
you	would have bettered
they	would have bettered

Imperative

you	better
we	Let's better
you	better

Progressive (Continuous) Forms

Indicative

Present

I	am bettering
you	are bettering
he;she;it	is bettering
we	are bettering
you	are bettering
they	are bettering

Perfect

I	have been bettering
you	have been bettering
he;she;it	has been bettering
we	have been bettering
you	have been bettering
they	have been bettering

Past

I	was bettering
you	were bettering
he;she;it	was bettering
we	were bettering
you	were bettering
they	were bettering

Pluperfect

I	had been bettering
you	had been bettering
he;she;it	had been bettering
we	had been bettering
you	had been bettering
they	had been bettering

Future

I	will be bettering
you	will be bettering
he;she;it	will be bettering
we	will be bettering
you	will be bettering
they	will be bettering

Future Perfect

I	will have been bettering
you	will have been bettering
he;she;it	will have been bettering
we	will have been bettering
you	will have been bettering
they	will have been bettering

Conditional

Present

I	would be bettering
you	would be bettering
he;she;it	would be bettering
we	would be bettering
you	would be bettering
they	would be bettering

Perfect

I	would have been bettering
you	would have been bettering
he;she;it	would have been bettering
we	would have been bettering
you	would have been bettering
they	would have been bettering

Other

Verbs conjugated like 'better'

abandon, abduct, abear, aberr, abject, abord, abort, abound, abraid, abray, abrook, abscind, abscond, absist, absorb, abstain, abstract, accend, accent, accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)

Verbs similar to 'better'

batter, bitter, butter, fetter, getter, letter, setter, tetter, atter, balter,

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

to make better: ameliorate, amend, batten, enhance, improve, meliorate
to be better than: best, dwarf, eclipse, exceed, excel, outclass, outdo, outmatch, outperform, outrival, outrun, outshadow, outshine, outstrip, outvie, overshadow, pass, put to shame, surpass, top, transcend, trump, upstage
ameliorate: advance, correct, help, improve, refine, pacify, amend, profit
exceed: top, outdo, surpass, transcend

Antonyms

to become worse: ameliorate, improve, worsen
ameliorate: deteriorate, injure, impair, mar
exceed: lag, fail, linger

Additional Information

Phrasal Verbs

Etymology

Shortening of had better ('d better).

Verbs referencing "better"

Sranan betre.

Sample Sentences

Some men, however, are decidedly bettered by being knocked down. If a man lays them fairly flat in the dust, they seem immediately to conceive a respect for him; and Legree was one of this sort. As he rose, therefore, and brushed the dust [...] (Uncle Tom’s Cabin)