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
Soon the scene devolved into individual battles between officers and rioters.
—
Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The Delaney Hall visit devolved into a clash when federal law enforcement sought to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D), who was invited by the lawmakers to the facility but ordered by a federal officer to leave.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 5 Jan. 2026
The testing of the limits of Grok devolved into a free-for-all as users asked it to create sexualized images of celebrities and others.
—The Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
William Eklund responded and things devolved from there.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2026
The testing of the limits of Grok devolved into a free-for-all as users asked it to create sexualized images of celebrities and others.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026
By comparison—and in contrast to its buoyant first season—Stranger Things has devolved into a joyless, uninspired, unidirectional slog.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Dec. 2025
The speech was billed as an event to sell his economic agenda, but quickly devolved into a campaign-style speech filled with derogatory insults.
—Lalee Ibssa, ABC News, 10 Dec. 2025
The country had devolved into anarchy and total uncertainty.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Jamie Thompson, The Atlantic, 6 Jan. 2026
The Delaney Hall visit devolved into a clash when federal law enforcement sought to arrest Newark Mayor Ras Baraka (D), who was invited by the lawmakers to the facility but ordered by a federal officer to leave.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 5 Jan. 2026
The testing of the limits of Grok devolved into a free-for-all as users asked it to create sexualized images of celebrities and others.
—The Los Angeles Times, Boston Herald, 4 Jan. 2026
William Eklund responded and things devolved from there.
—Evan Webeck, Mercury News, 3 Jan. 2026
The testing of the limits of Grok devolved into a free-for-all as users asked it to create sexualized images of celebrities and others.
—Los Angeles Times, 2 Jan. 2026
By comparison—and in contrast to its buoyant first season—Stranger Things has devolved into a joyless, uninspired, unidirectional slog.
—Judy Berman, Time, 26 Dec. 2025
The speech was billed as an event to sell his economic agenda, but quickly devolved into a campaign-style speech filled with derogatory insults.
—Lalee Ibssa, ABC News, 10 Dec. 2025
The country had devolved into anarchy and total uncertainty.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 4 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for devolved
Verb
-
At the time, Denver’s Landmark Preservation office told the Denver Gazette that the old neon was too deteriorated to restore.—
Noelle Phillips,
Denver Post,
11 Jan. 2026
-
The already-frosty relationship between Devers and the front office deteriorated to an irreparable level in May, when Triston Casas suffered a season-ending knee injury.—
Gabrielle Starr,
Boston Herald,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Squeezed by environmental regulations and fearing a flood of cheap food products from across the Atlantic, farmers have blocked highways and descended on the streets of European capitals in an explosion of outrage against the agreement.—
Isabel Debre,
Fortune,
15 Jan. 2026
-
The next morning, a fugitive task force of 10 armed officers descended on the mountain retreat in upstate New York that Busfield and Gilbert share to break down their front door, find him and take him into custody, the Daily Mail reported.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
On June 14, 2023, the three-story building crumbled, fireworks whistled through the sky and the explosions rumbled the ground miles away.—
Joe Rubin,
Sacbee.com,
13 Jan. 2026
-
The Bears brought more pressure, including defensive back blitzes, and the Packers’ pass protection crumbled while the running game stalled.—
Matt Schneidman,
New York Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
But the tie-up with Nieman Marcus only worsened Saks’ debt situation as luxury sales weakened.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
14 Jan. 2026
-
Firefighters said the fire was then upgraded to a third alarm as fire conditions worsened and spread internally on the second and third floors.—
Timia Cobb
Breaking News Reporter,
Dallas Morning News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Since the mandate, neural tube defects have dramatically declined in almost every single ethnic population except for Latinos, according to Jaffery.—
Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado
January 12,
Sacbee.com,
12 Jan. 2026
-
Wiener declined to answer the question in either direction.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
After a police operation in Rio de Janeiro in October degenerated into a chaotic shootout, leading to more than 120 deaths, Brazilian civil society groups reacted in horror.—
Brian Winter,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
-
Our national political and cultural discourse, especially online, has degenerated into a permanent fever dream.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
What happens when these cues are greatly diminished or erased either by plastic surgery or other aesthetic interventions?—
Valerie Monroe,
Allure,
15 Jan. 2026
-
The prestige of its domestic institutions, once a pillar of American hegemony, has diminished.—
Pratap Bhanu Mehta,
Time,
15 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Devolved.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/devolved. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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