variants
also racheting (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
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratcheting (down)
Verb
-
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among women, behind lung cancer, although death rates have been decreasing over the last three decades.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
1 Oct. 2025 -
The fabric was woven with regenerative cotton from Spain and dyed with Candiani’s Indigo Juice technology, which keeps the dye superficial on yarns, decreasing the energy, water, and chemicals consumption.—
Angela Velasquez,
Sourcing Journal,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Football, it could be argued, is diminishing its worth by almost never taking a break and playing virtually year-round.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Advertisement Risks of multivitamins Many of us grew up striving for 100% on every test, but overachieving with multivitamins comes with risk—diminishing their benefits or causing harmful side effects.—
Matt Fuchs,
Time,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
In ‘04, three seasons after the last of five national championships, Miami’s glory-days era was ebbing.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Trump insists that trillions in new investment are flowing in, the trade deficit is shrinking, and the nation is flush enough to consider mailing out checks.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Most pressing is inflation – but there’s also Japan’s demographic crisis, with a rapidly aging population, falling birthrate, shrinking workforce, and growing costs of elder care and welfare.—
Jessie Yeung,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The season continues through May and June, tapering off after early July, when snow starts to deteriorate.—
Owen Clarke,
Outside,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Now that much of the nation has begun the transition to cheaper winter gasoline and with driving demand seasonally tapering off as temperatures dip, gas prices face additional downward pressure.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Like a snake shedding its skin, The Girlfriend’s expendable outer layers are falling away to reveal a more interesting core.—
Rafaela Bassili,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Gallagher had an underwhelming first year with Atletico, which started well before falling away, and now finds himself no longer a first choice for coach Diego Simeone.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
New York Times,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Schools are facing mounting challenges — from funding pressures to declining enrollment and stagnant student achievement.—
Kayla Huynh,
jsonline.com,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Low midsingle-digit gains are anticipated due to rising prices from tariffs and inflation, declining consumer confidence, economic uncertainties and potential stockouts.—
David Moin,
Footwear News,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The expansion is being fueled by its cloud infrastructure business as demand for AI is showing no signs of letting up.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
-
And there are no signs of letting up as a new nine-month term dawns in October with more major cases awaiting.—
Jan Wolfe,
USA Today,
8 Sep. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Ratcheting (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratcheting%20%28down%29. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share