variants
also racheted (down)
as in decreased
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually
news stories about the kidnapping will ratchet down as the weeks go by
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratcheted (down)
Verb
-
Brent crude, the global benchmark, decreased to just more than $91 per barrel Friday afternoon after reaching lower to $89 earlier in the day.—
Ryan Mancini,
The Hill,
17 Apr. 2026 -
Though the number of deadly attacks by separatists has decreased in recent years, the conflict shows no sign of resolution.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Guthrie is 84, after all, and not in great health, so though in the first few days the focus was on trying to find her alive, at this point, the hopes of that have diminished greatly.—
StyleCaster Editors,
StyleCaster,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Quiet Maryam and mercurial Farhan—eight years apart—had often squabbled, gone through periods of not talking, but without her sister as a foil, Maryam was diminished.—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Immigration — long a pipeline for population growth — has ebbed significantly under a federal crackdown.—
National Correspondent,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
-
But eventually, the anger ebbed; replaced by an all-too-familiar ache of grief laced with longing.—
Chelsea Bailey,
CNN Money,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Layoffs that year shrunk the payroll to just 62 of the formerly 158 employees and threw the future of fairgrounds into question.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
14 Apr. 2026
-
Nothing directly came from these meetings, at least nothing that shrunk the project.—
Matthew Geiger,
Denver Post,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In the piece, the Vicar of Christ is felled not by his oppressors but rather by a random cosmic event.—
Brian Boucher,
ARTnews.com,
16 Apr. 2026
-
Jeff Shell, now felled from his presidency of Paramount, is living proof.—
Gary Baum,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In an email, Gardner declined to comment on the specifics of the situation.—
Marvin Hurst,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
-
The prosecutor declined to comment further to AP pending further investigation.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
What initially felt like a meteoric rise tapered off into a slow burn.—
Vince Aletti,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Light-bloom torture-test shots of colorful objects against completely black backgrounds also produced significant haze that tapered off gradually across the screen.—
Will Greenwald,
PC Magazine,
6 Apr. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Ratcheted (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratcheted%20%28down%29. Accessed 20 Apr. 2026.
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