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ratchet (down)

verb

variants also rachet (down)
Definition of ratchet (down)next
as in to decrease
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratchet (down)
  1. decrease
  2. diminish
  3. shrink
  4. ebb
  5. decline
  6. taper off
Verb
  • Winds will very slowly decrease late Saturday night into early Sunday morning behind the cold front.
    — CA Weather Bot, Sacbee.com, 11 Sep. 2026
  • What else changes Although officer staffing has fallen in recent years, violent crime has also decreased by about 40% since 2021, according to IMPD data.
    — Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of decrease
Verb
  • Employees need clarity on how new skills connect to opportunities and confidence that AI will enhance, not diminish, their value in the organization.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
  • If the senator’s moralism has been unfettered by his stroke, with a shift toward right-brain moralistic processing, that does not diminish his sincere intent or its effect.
    — Michael P.H. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminish
Verb
  • Some will consolidate, some will shrink, others will grow more strategically important.
    — Hemant Kapadia, Forbes.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • The proportion of people older than 65 is rising rapidly, while the working-age population that supports them shrinks.
    — Venki Ramakrishnan, Scientific American, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrink
Verb
  • As farming ebbed, the water stored in those reservoirs helped the area's cities and suburbs become one of the nation's fastest growing urban areas.
    — Alex Hager, NPR, 31 Aug. 2026
  • This is true if focusing on the standard price-to-earnings ratio, which has ebbed from 23 to 20 in the past 10 months.
    — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of ebb
Verb
  • In recent weeks, new cases and deaths have declined in Ituri province, the outbreak's epicenter, but risen sharply in neighboring North Kivu and Haut-Uele, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said at a weekly briefing.
    — JEAN-YVES KAMALE, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Headen declined to claim responsibility for any of the posts.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of decline
Verb
  • As the rains tapered off and the skies cleared, Paterson's annual Dominican parade stepped off Sunday afternoon, though with a slight delay.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 13 Sep. 2026
  • However, Brissett's play tapered off after he was hobbled by a knee injury.
    — James Boyd, New York Times, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of taper off
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

ratbags
ratchet (down)
ratcheted (down)
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Cite this Entry

“Ratchet (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratchet%20%28down%29. Accessed 18 Sep. 2026.

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