as in to deteriorate
to become worse or of less value
the once-lovely neighborhood has devolved into a squalid slum
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Recent Examples of devolve
Emotional Conversations Always End In Exhaustion, Not Resolution In marriages caught in the chaser-spacer dynamic, attempts to discuss feelings often devolve into emotional exhaustion rather than resolution.
—
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
That's not to say there's not a role for healthy discourse to educate and create understanding; initially, Rowling appeared to come to the conversation from a feminist perspective, which devolved into something much darker and crueler.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 26 Apr. 2025
What a decline in product The Athletic has devolved into nowadays.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
The paper reported that the argument, which reportedly did not involve her grandson, devolved into a fight and Mette went outside to try and break it up.
—Liam Quinn, People.com, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devolve
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 4 May 2025
That's not to say there's not a role for healthy discourse to educate and create understanding; initially, Rowling appeared to come to the conversation from a feminist perspective, which devolved into something much darker and crueler.
—Stephanie Sengwe, People.com, 26 Apr. 2025
What a decline in product The Athletic has devolved into nowadays.
—Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
The paper reported that the argument, which reportedly did not involve her grandson, devolved into a fight and Mette went outside to try and break it up.
—Liam Quinn, People.com, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for devolve
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devolve
Verb
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In March, Rose Shalom of Sunland lost her husband, Mannie Rezende, who had slowly deteriorated from Alzheimer’s over several years.—
Steve Lopez,
Mercury News,
7 May 2025
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But their relationship deteriorated as both countries became less secular.—
David Makovsky,
Foreign Affairs,
6 May 2025
Verb
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That the posing and posturing for the public continued even as the Pentagon descended into turmoil over his rocky leadership seemed to say something, too.—
Jonathan Swan,
New York Times,
29 Apr. 2025
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The hospital’s staff had braced for an onslaught of wounded after learning of the disaster, an army of ambulances having descended on the farm to the southwest of the city center where the plane’s carcass lay burning.—
Théoden Janes,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The ongoing humanitarian crisis is worsened by widespread poverty, food insecurity, and a crumbling health care system, displacing over a million people from their homes in search of safety.—
Tom Rogers,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Apr. 2025
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Here’s what students and educators across the state told us about the floods and leaks, overcrowding and inaccessibility, safety and outages, crumbling buildings and heating and cooling problems that impact every part of their day.—
Becca Savransky,
Idaho Statesman,
27 Apr. 2025
Verb
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However, a professor of political science at Bowling Green State University, which conducted the poll, said Democrats could yet retake the seat if the economy worsens, by regaining their standing as the party of the middle and working class.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 May 2025
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On the call, company officials said that while the McDonald's brand hadn't been affected by worsening perceptions of the U.S. by overseas consumers, its internal surveys had picked up a notable uptick in anti-American sentiment, particularly among diners in northern Europe and Canada.—
Rob Wile,
NBC news,
1 May 2025
Verb
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Muir declined to speak to The Athletic about the evolution of Stanford athletics.—
Stewart Mandel,
New York Times,
1 May 2025
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Both the Probation Department and DMH declined to comment.—
James Queally,
Los Angeles Times,
1 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Devolve.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devolve. Accessed 14 May. 2025.
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