RACHET Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

ratchet (down)

verb

variants also rachet (down)

Definition of ratchet (down)

as in to decrease

to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually news stories about the kidnapping will ratchet down as the weeks go by

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratchet (down)

Verb

As would be expected, oil demand was forced to decrease, to match available supply.

— Jason Bordoff, Foreign Affairs, 14 Aug. 2026
Only 15% believed the statements would decrease the patients’ likelihood of seeking treatment—even though that's what tended to happen in the researchers' simulations.

— Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 14 Aug. 2026

Definition of decrease

Verb

The term refers to when tobacco companies in the 1990s were forced to pay billions of dollars for misleading the public about the safety and potential harms of their products, and subsequently saw their power and influence dramatically diminished.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 18 Aug. 2026
The filter significantly diminishes elements commonly found in water that can be damaging, like chlorine, hydrogen sulfide, heavy metals, and more.

— Caroline Hughes, Travel + Leisure, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of diminish

Verb

As the Danube waters shrank in Bulgaria, researchers were thrilled to find and recover a jawbone, tusks, a shoulder blade, ribs and other bone fragments belonging to an extinct woolly mammoth buried deep in the sand.

— CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
That reduction could dramatically shrink the reactor’s physical footprint.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of shrink

Verb

The 25-year-old from California opened the final with some swagger, popping four aces in the first game, but his self-assurance quickly ebbed.

— Ava Wallace, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026
In 1945, 84 percent of federal outlays were on defense, a tsunami of spending that would ebb once World War II concluded.

— Editorial Board, Washington Post, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of ebb

Verb

Watts declined Rolling Stone’s multiple requests for an interview and did not specifically address a majority of questions posed to him in a detailed request for comment.

— Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
When first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in May, Devers declined to learn the position despite Boston’s dearth of options.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of decline

Verb

Then there’s the question of whether demand will taper off, which is difficult to predict.

— Matthew Adams, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Aug. 2026
Rain showers got Wednesday started for most of the Philadelphia area, but that morning precipitation will taper off through midday.

— Bill Kelly, CBS News, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of taper off

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Browse Nearby Words

ratbags

ratchet (down)

ratcheted (down)

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“Ratchet (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratchet%20%28down%29. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of ratchet (down)

verb

Example Sentences

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