RACHETING (DOWN) Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

ratcheting (down)

verb

variants also racheting (down)

present participle of ratchet (down)

as in decreasing

to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually news stories about the kidnapping will ratchet down as the weeks go by

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratcheting (down)

Verb

Little brown bats can similarly reduce their metabolic demands by going Dracula for months at a time, decreasing their body temperatures by more than fifty degrees Fahrenheit and slowing their respiration to a handful of breaths an hour.

— Rivka Galchen, New Yorker, 14 Sep. 2026
The steadiest and most widespread coverage of any rain should be early in the day with the coverage decreasing during the afternoon and evening.

— Rachael Jay, CBS News, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of decreasing

Verb

Meanwhile, the housing market is getting crushed by high mortgage rates and diminishing affordability, while consumers are carrying ever more expensive credit card and auto debt.

— John W. Diamond, The Conversation, 16 Sep. 2026
The risk of eroding trust and diminishing stakeholder confidence by staying silent is too high.

— Kristi Piehl, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of diminishing

Verb

The autocracies are surging, and democracies ebbing.

— Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026
That number has fluctuated from a high of 115,000 in May to a low of about 16,000 on the day before this column was published, ebbing and flowing as tickets were purchased, new batches were released and FIFA (maybe) pulled back others.

— Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 10 June 2026

Definition of ebbing

Verb

But Orange, with its booming home sales and constant new construction, was buffered for years from shrinking student counts felt in other parts of the country.

— Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 Sep. 2026
Fazio’s announcement undermined one more preposterous claim by the shrinking figure that is Diamantis.

— Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 19 Sep. 2026

Definition of shrinking

Verb

Al-Deek says relief can come from a few different directions — hormone replacement therapy, switching to a different antidepressant, adjusting your dose or tapering off the medication altogether.

— Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 28 Aug. 2026
Rain chances continue into Thursday, with storm activity tapering off in the evening.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of tapering off

Verb

When algorithms see these frictions falling away, the need for a driver premium plummets, deflating the surge price.

— Christopher S. Tang, The Conversation, 8 July 2026
But the memorandum drafted between Kyiv and Washington on an early-stage drone deal appears to suggest those obstacles may be falling away.

— Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 12 May 2026

Definition of falling away

Verb

For some business owners, the impact extends beyond declining sales.

— Ivan Taylor, CBS News, 17 Sep. 2026
The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan surpassed a record 100,000 this year, the latest government figures show, underscoring the country's rapidly aging and declining population.

— ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026

Definition of declining

Verb

With protests against the moves beginning to take shape, the crackdowns show no signs of letting up, even as international attention and condemnation begins to pour in.

— Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 17 Sep. 2026
But on this Labor Day, working people are struggling amid an affordability crisis that shows no signs of letting up.

— Mario Cilento, New York Daily News, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of letting up

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Browse Nearby Words

ratcheted (up)

ratcheting (down)

ratcheting (up)

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“Ratcheting (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratcheting%20%28down%29. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of ratcheting (down)

verb

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