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ratcheted (down)

verb

variants also racheted (down)
past tense of ratchet (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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratcheted (down)
  1. decreased
  2. diminished
  3. ebbed
  4. shrank
  5. fell
  6. declined
  7. tapered off
Verb
  • Playing for Brian Daboll, Josh Allen slowly decreased his average time to throw and average air yards from 2018 to 2021.
    — Ted Nguyen, New York Times, 7 Sep. 2026
  • In Little Village, the number of vendors selling tamales and elotes has decreased, said Jennifer Aguilar, executive director of the business district’s chamber of commerce.
    — Andrew Carter, Chicago Tribune, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of decreased
Verb
  • With one franchise leader gone and another diminished, a Red Wings era — and arguably multiple eras — has ended.
    — Max Bultman, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • If one leaves, the other, diminished in solitude, cannot long survive alone.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminished
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 ebbed
Verb
  • But in 2021, Premier League clubs lost access to that exception and this shrunk the market by 95 per cent.
    — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Hybrid work increased slightly while fully remote work shrank slightly; average remote hours slipped only from 27 to 26 hours over the measured period.
    — Gleb Tsipursky, Washington Post, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of shrank
Verb
  • Yet trees that took a millennium to grow can be felled in under an hour.
    — Annika Hammerschlag, Los Angeles Times, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Vines are pulled away from fences, and sometimes trees are even felled.
    — The Washington Post, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Sep. 2026
Definition of fell
Verb
  • Order could reshape federal wolf protections Gray wolves were first listed as endangered in 1967 after populations declined because of hunting and other human activities.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The Federal Bureau of Investigation declined to provide further comment on the case to Fortune.
    — Joshua Hong, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of declined
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 tapered 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

ratchet (down)
ratcheted (down)
ratcheted (up)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ratcheted (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratcheted%20%28down%29. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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