as in deteriorated
to become worse or of less value
the once-lovely neighborhood has devolved into a squalid slum
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Recent Examples of devolved
The formerly high-end shopping destination, featured as a backdrop for a scene in a 1985 John Hughes movie, has more recently devolved into desolation.
—
Audrey Pachuta, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
That's what Star Wars has devolved into, and that's who Mark Hamill has become.
—Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
The top candidates in California’s wide-open race for governor took the stage Wednesday night in a Los Angeles debate that began politely but quickly devolved into another raucous clash.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
And the park’s northwest corner devolved into an open-air drug den, where fentanyl and crack were openly sold and used.
—Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026
Like other stories of fractured childhoods, including Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died and Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle, Konkle writes in unflinching detail about how her relationship with her parents devolved under the weight of a messy divorce and financial strain.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 6 May 2026
Instead of reaching some decisive crisis point, the conflict devolved into a deadlock – a war of attrition where neither side could achieve much more than small gains of territory in one place while suffering small losses of land in another.
—David Szondy
may 02, New Atlas, 2 May 2026
At one point during Thursday night's meeting, disagreement between commissioners and the chair devolved into shouting.
—Elle Meyers, CBS News, 1 May 2026
This visual vocabulary emerged in The Man at the Tree (1968) and The Wood on Its Head (1969), and later devolved, with his subjects abstracted to the point of pulp.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Audrey Pachuta, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2026
That's what Star Wars has devolved into, and that's who Mark Hamill has become.
—Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2026
The top candidates in California’s wide-open race for governor took the stage Wednesday night in a Los Angeles debate that began politely but quickly devolved into another raucous clash.
—Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2026
And the park’s northwest corner devolved into an open-air drug den, where fentanyl and crack were openly sold and used.
—Lincoln Anderson, New York Daily News, 6 May 2026
Like other stories of fractured childhoods, including Jennette McCurdy’s I’m Glad My Mom Died and Jeannette Walls’s The Glass Castle, Konkle writes in unflinching detail about how her relationship with her parents devolved under the weight of a messy divorce and financial strain.
—Savannah Walsh, Vanity Fair, 6 May 2026
Instead of reaching some decisive crisis point, the conflict devolved into a deadlock – a war of attrition where neither side could achieve much more than small gains of territory in one place while suffering small losses of land in another.
—David Szondy
may 02, New Atlas, 2 May 2026
At one point during Thursday night's meeting, disagreement between commissioners and the chair devolved into shouting.
—Elle Meyers, CBS News, 1 May 2026
This visual vocabulary emerged in The Man at the Tree (1968) and The Wood on Its Head (1969), and later devolved, with his subjects abstracted to the point of pulp.
—Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 30 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devolved
Verb
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Even the city emblem right in front of City Hall is deteriorated.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
-
Mohammadi, who has been imprisoned in Zanjan Prison in the northwest since her arrest in December, was transferred last Friday to a local hospital after her health sharply deteriorated.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Surveillance video captured the dramatic end to the crash, including when a man flew out of the truck, rolled onto the ground and stood up before law enforcement descended on the scene.—
Ana Maria Soler,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
-
Outside the Capitol, House Speaker Mike Johnson descended the stairs to a lectern.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Murdaugh’s father, a grandfather and a great-grandfather were each elected as top prosecutors in the region, burnishing a family reputation that eventually crumbled.—
Daniel Arkin,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
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That’s how the Spurs got going early, and Minnesota’s defense crumbled.—
Zach Harper,
New York Times,
7 May 2026
Verb
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The doctors said her vascular disease has worsened since she was last checked in 2024 and recommended an eight-month treatment course .—
Natalie Melzer,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
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Drought conditions in Georgia have worsened since the project was announced, and today, the whole state is experiencing severe to exceptional drought, with destructive wildfires burning in the southern part of Georgia.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Kazarian declined to comment further on Friday afternoon.—
Clara Harter,
Los Angeles Times,
9 May 2026
-
The Padres placed Cruz on the restricted list in mid-March and have declined further comment.—
Alex Riggins,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
Verb
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Last fall, a Krousty Sabaïdi giveaway promoted by popular French influencer Fares Salvatore, who has more than 868,000 followers on TikTok, degenerated into mayhem when the call-out attracted 3,000 teenagers.—
Vivian Song,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
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Murderous encounters dating to the Risdon Cove settlement eventually degenerated into the Black War (1804–30), a period of great physical conflict between the Aboriginal population and European settlers.—
Britannica Editors,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Another theory suggests regulatory changes in China a few years ago appear to have diminished the availability of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl.—
Mike Stobbe,
Fortune,
13 May 2026
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The roles of China and Russia, as Iran’s allies, are strengthened; the role of the United States, substantially diminished.—
Robert Kagan,
The Atlantic,
10 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Devolved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devolved. Accessed 17 May. 2026.
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