variants
also rachet (down)
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)
Verb
-
Iron Ore production decreased by 4.5% to 67.7 million metric tons due to heavy rainfall in Brazil.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
20 May 2025 -
Although the unsheltered population in the city of L.A. decreased last year from 32,680 to 29,275, and is projected to decline again this year, residents and business owners continue to express frustration with the city’s handling of the homelessness crisis.—
Ruben Vives,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2025
Verb
-
Give credit without diminishing your own contributions.—
Marvin Krislov,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2025
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But missing those goals doesn’t diminish the importance of potentially revising the target, for which the Paris Agreement includes a review mechanism, Stokes said.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
21 May 2025
Verb
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Though East Contra Costa has been the hub of refinery activities in Northern California, the number of jobs in the remaining refineries was limited, and had been shrinking in the past decade.—
Michael Bernick,
Forbes.com,
13 May 2025
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After the turn of the decade in 2020, a world that was once encouraged to expand its views on fatness regressed into shrinking itself, giving way to a community and plus-size fashion industry in rapid decline.—
Essence,
Essence,
12 May 2025
Verb
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In short, geopolitical norms have been ebbed away and military actions that were once deemed red lines are crossed with little accountability.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 May 2025
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Even as the fighting has begun to ebb, many of the war’s key players are unwilling to engage in a settlement that would end the stream of profits generated by their war machines.—
Mai Hassan,
Foreign Affairs,
30 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
While the cost of groceries, on average, declined, the report found the price of dining out got more expensive and is up about 4% from the past year.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
14 May 2025
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Revenue is expected to decline between 4 percent and 5 percent, which anticipates a drop of 4 to 5 percent in North America, a mid-teen percent decline in Asia-Pacific and high-single-digit growth in EMEA.—
Jean E. Palmieri,
Footwear News,
13 May 2025
Verb
-
The Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service expects more rain and drizzle for the metro on Wednesday, with a high of 51 Rain showers are likely for most of the area today, the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service reports, but will taper off from north to south tonight.—
John Autey,
Twin Cities,
21 May 2025
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The rain started to taper off as the diamond dry was applied to the dirt and the game was paused for several minutes.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
15 May 2025
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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 27 May. 2025.
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