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atrophying

verb

present participle of atrophy
as in deteriorating
to become worse or of less value in the years following the closing of the last textile mill, the town atrophied

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of atrophying The Jersey boys had been sidelined from touring since 2022 after frontman Jon Bon Jovi was diagnosed with an atrophying vocal cord. — Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today, 8 July 2026 What is your advice for people who are trying to either develop or redevelop this atrophying muscle of curiosity and attention? — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026 And to society, the implications of such blatant cronyism could be sweeping, from atrophying regulation and loss of accountability to further concentration of power and money among the wealthiest people on Earth. — Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 18 June 2026 Language skills at the department are also atrophying. — Byron Tau, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026 Horvath blames educational technology (EdTech) for these atrophying skillsets, arguing that at the turn of the 21th century and through its first decade and a half, tech companies and advocates pushed a false narrative that the education system was broken, but computers could fix it. — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 1 Mar. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrophying
  1. deteriorating
  2. crumbling
  3. worsening
  4. declining
  5. descending
Verb
  • The latest contingent is arriving as Haiti confronts a deteriorating security and humanitarian environment and struggles to organize its first general elections in more than a decade.
    — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The company’s financial position had been deteriorating for several years.
    — Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of deteriorating
Verb
  • Partly because the contracting system remains dysfunctional, the government has made little visible progress toward repairing the country’s crumbling highways.
    — Will Freeman, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026
  • McKinley stages a few bullet-sweating sequences of peril, including a particularly brutal transport of gold bars across a crumbling rope bridge and an underwater accident exacerbated by floating logs.
    — Katie Walsh, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of crumbling
Verb
  • In an era of worsening doctor shortages and an aging population, the ability to retain and re-energize good physicians may be the most underrated cost lever in all of healthcare.
    — Aric Coffman, Forbes.com, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Looking to the future As polar ice disappears and sea levels continue to rise, concerns over the continuing and worsening repercussions of climate change continue to grow.
    — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of worsening
Verb
  • Compared to the rapidly declining number of referrals from traditional search engines — which once numbered in the tens of millions — these AI clicks are a tiny drop in the bucket.
    — Joe Wilkins, Futurism, 24 Sep. 2026
  • North Central President Abiódún Gòkè-Paríolá said he was thrilled by the enrollment numbers, especially as colleges across the country are grappling with a declining high school graduate population.
    — Carolyn Stein, Chicago Tribune, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of declining
Verb
  • Founded in 1926, the largest and longest-running Italian festival in the United States celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, with locals and tourists alike descending upon Mulberry Street in Manhattan to celebrate Italian American culture.
    — Clare Whitton, The Conversation, 17 Sep. 2026
  • This novel’s narrator is a dog who lives on a farm in a nameless country that is descending into war.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of descending

Browse Nearby Words

atrophy
atrophying
at sea
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Atrophying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrophying. Accessed 25 Sep. 2026.

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