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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratcheting (down)
  1. decreasing
  2. diminishing
  3. ebbing
  4. shrinking
  5. tapering off
  6. falling away
  7. declining
  8. letting up
Verb
  • Parton didn’t stop with Dollywood By the early 1990s, Parton created The Dollywood Foundation with the goal of decreasing the high school drop out rate in Sevier County, which was hovering around 30%.
    — Kimberlee Kruesi, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Over several days, gradually increase the proportion of the new food while decreasing the old food.
    — Matthew Kayser, USA Today, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of decreasing
Verb
  • In the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, France's initial mediating role gave way to a pro-Armenia stance, alienating Baku and diminishing its leverage with Yerevan, which now increasingly favors the US.
    — Kamran Bokhari, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
  • During Anahulu Ho Emi, the third and final phase, the focus is diminishing, surrendering and reflecting.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Aug. 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
  • If internal fluid pressure drops during aggressive extraction, the surrounding earth squeezes the cavern inward, permanently shrinking total storage capacity and crushing steel well casings.
    — Siddharth Misra, Fortune, 25 Aug. 2026
  • That Toll Brothers vote encapsulated south Folsom’s shrinking oak woodland.
    — Corey Schmidt, Sacbee.com, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of shrinking
Verb
  • Rain chances continue into Thursday, with storm activity tapering off in the evening.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 3 Aug. 2026
  • The rain will be tapering off and skies will be clearing in the afternoon.
    — Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 17 July 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
  • The Little Rock School District faces declining enrollment and financial challenges.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 27 Aug. 2026
  • The cliff bee population is declining due to overharvesting, habitat destruction and climate change.
    — Prayan Pokharel, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of declining
Verb
  • After already scoring the best domestic weekend in box-office history, Spider-Man is not letting up.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 5 Aug. 2026
  • Shifts in geopolitics, mercurial trade policies and evolving compliance requirements have been reshaping global sourcing, and the changes show no signs of letting up.
    — Arthur Zaczkiewicz, Footwear News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of letting up
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

ratcheted (up)
ratcheting (down)
ratcheting (up)
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Cite this Entry

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

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