as in to deteriorate
to become worse or of less value
in the years following the closing of the last textile mill, the town atrophied
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in degeneration
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of atrophy
Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
That episode drives home how deeply the oversight capacities of the American system have atrophied in its wake.
—Chris Lehmann, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Jon Hamilton, NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, CMT causes a range of sensory and motor symptoms, including numbness, tingling, pain, muscle weakness and atrophy — deterioration in cells, tissues, and organs.
—Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrophy
Verb
The real-life consequences of automation atrophying human critical skills are already well-established.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 26 Aug. 2025
That episode drives home how deeply the oversight capacities of the American system have atrophied in its wake.
—Chris Lehmann, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
Noun
More robust results came from measures of brain atrophy — the shrinkage that tends to come with Alzheimer's.
—Jon Hamilton, NPR, 29 Oct. 2025
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, CMT causes a range of sensory and motor symptoms, including numbness, tingling, pain, muscle weakness and atrophy — deterioration in cells, tissues, and organs.
—Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for atrophy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrophy
Verb
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Residents should also remain alert to rapidly changing forecasts, as conditions may deteriorate quickly.—
Amanda Greenwood,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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Grace appears dazed when others pick up on her ache, and takes a perverse pleasure in Jackson’s struggle to deal with her deteriorating mental health.—
Shirley Li,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Not only are relapses unpredictable but scientists have yet to explain the slow and insidious degeneration that often occurs even without new lesions.—
Lucinda Rosenfeld,
New Yorker,
25 Oct. 2025
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Looking ahead, the research team plans to test the new compounds in animal and human studies, in hopes that this could lead to a new approach for slowing or repairing brain degeneration for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
20 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In a social media video, Madi said her father's health declined in the months following an early-stage prostate cancer diagnosis.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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The Administration submitted an emergency filing to the Supreme Court after an appeals court declined to block the injunction.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Some of it is also related to the age and deterioration of much of the grid, which now requires rebuilding.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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The deterioration in the labor market has been concentrated in payroll employment, which is the [datapoint] that is the most susceptible to demographic and immigration changes.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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That quest comes to a screeching halt due to the 2008 recession, as Jackie scrambles to adjust to a new lifestyle while husband David struggles to keep his timeshare empire from crumbling.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Nov. 2025
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Instead, Chenoweth finds the humanity inside the caricature, capturing the contradictions that made Jackie a pop-culture fascination — her drive for success, her humor, and yes, even her delusion to keep believing in a fantasy when the walls around her are literally crumbling.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
10 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Keep the mulch at least two inches away from woody stems to prevent decay and disease.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
8 Nov. 2025
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The Tyranids represent man's fear of the natural world, nature's inexorable ability to overwhelm, decay, and devour all of man's greatest works.—
Alan Bradley,
Space.com,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Their fate worsened when star striker Barbra Banda, who was crowned NWSL Championship MVP last year, was injured during a mid-August match, ending her season.—
Tamerra Griffin,
New York Times,
8 Nov. 2025
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Esperance, the human-rights advocate who once opposed a foreign intervention and has since changed his mind as the gang violence worsens, said any election held now would in effect turn the country over to the gangs.—
Jacqueline Charles,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
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After improvements in passenger totals in 2021, 2022, and 2023, San Jose and Oakland both began to suffer slumps in 2024 and the weakening pattern has lingered well into 2025, a review of official airport statistics shows.—
HECTOR AMEZCUA,
Sacbee.com,
7 Nov. 2025
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After improvements in passenger totals in 2021, 2022, and 2023, San Jose and Oakland both began to suffer slumps in 2024 and the weakening pattern has lingered well into 2025, a review of official airport statistics shows.—
George Avalos,
Mercury News,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrophy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrophy. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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