Synonyms of atrophying

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

• deteriorating
• crumbling
• worsening
• declining
• descending
• degenerating
• rotting
• diminishing
• decaying
• devolving
• ebbing
• regressing
• sinking
• weakening
• disintegrating
• retrograding
• sagging
• waning
• dwindling
• decomposing
• downsizing
• falling
• receding
• going to pot
• slipping
• putrefying
• reducing
• degrading
• going to seed
• moldering
• undermining
• dilapidating
• souring
• corrupting
• debilitating
• drooping
• lessening
• languishing
• lagging
• abating
• failing
• spoiling
• flagging
• wilting
• lowering
• wasting (away)
• de-escalating
• running down
• breaking down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improving
• ameliorating
• upgrading
• bettering
• strengthening
• enhancing
• intensifying
• developing
• meliorating
• enriching
• heightening
• progressing
• fortifying
• proceeding
• advancing
• marching

Example Sentences

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