RATCHETED (DOWN) Synonyms: 77 Similar and Opposite Words

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

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Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratcheted (down)

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

Beyond that, sharpening a feel for when the initial danger has diminished should help the quarterback find a little extra time and space to reset and attack.

— Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
Foreign central banks and other institutions looking for a safe place to park their capital have diminished roles in the Treasury market and have increasingly turned to alternative havens like gold.

— Jason Ma, Fortune, 6 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

Sales shrank last year after a drop-off in Canadian tourists hammered business at farmers’ markets and fairs, Denniston said.

— Max Zahn, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026
Studios have shrunk budgets, major production houses have cut staff, and fewer projects are reaching the finish line.

— Justin Birnbaum, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2026

Definition of shrank

Verb

The goal came after Furuhashi got loose on a breakaway up the middle of the pitch, only to be felled by New England’s Will Sands in the center of the box, leaving referee Drew Fischer with an easy penalty call.

— Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
Mosaic terrazzo floors with a palm motif are nods to both Tiberius’s villas here and the Ethiopian palm that once stood like an icon outside the hotel, which was felled by a storm in the 1960s.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 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

The conditions were wet and and slippery at first, but the rain appears to have tapered off now.

— NBC News, NBC news, 28 June 2026
And several of the unflattering stats have tapered off a ton this last year, including sacks taken (27 in 2025, down from 62 in 2023).

— Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 24 June 2026

Definition of tapered off

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ratchet (down)

ratcheted (down)

ratcheted (up)

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“Ratcheted (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratcheted%20%28down%29. Accessed 12 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of ratcheted (down)

verb

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