receding 1 of 3

adjective

as in retrogressing

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

receding

2 of 3

noun

as in hanging

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

receding

3 of 3

verb

present participle of recede
1
as in subsiding
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually the sound of sirens receded as the fire engines roared off into the distance

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in retreating
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) after the rain stops, the floodwaters should gradually recede

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of receding
Verb
In Hungary too, where the heat crisis is severely straining the country’s energy supply, the receding water levels of the Danube River exposed several bombs, likely from World War II, a local official said last week. — Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026 The receding waters are also affecting nuclear energy production in numerous countries where water from the Danube is typically used to cool reactors. — Justin Spike, Fortune, 31 July 2026 Symptoms vary depending on the type of hair loss but commonly include gradual thinning, a widening part, a receding hairline, excessive shedding, round bald patches or the loss of eyebrows and eyelashes. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 31 July 2026 There were no reports of deaths or injuries, and the flood waters were receding Thursday. — ABC News, 30 July 2026 Flooding damages buildings in Gilmer County Along Cox Creek in Gilmer County, rising waters surrounded nearby properties before receding early in the morning. — Rashad Williams, CBS News, 29 July 2026 Crucially, the massive wave of new construction is now receding, with starts plummeting. — Brad Hunter, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026 As the spacecraft closed in, the video follows Mars steadily expanding to reveal numerous craters puncturing its surface, the ancient double-ringed Huygens crater and the south polar ice cap before receding in the spacecraft's rearview. — Sharmila Kuthunur, Space.com, 22 July 2026 The waters were receding Friday, and officials said a major highway, Route 90, had reopened. — Jesse Bedayn, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for receding
  1. stopped
  2. hanging
  3. subsiding
  4. retreating
  5. declivity
  6. decreasing
  7. withdrawing
  8. decline
Adjective
  • Three other vehicles with human drivers then appeared to illegally pass the stopped bus.
    — Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
  • The truck crossed into the eastbound lane and crashed into the stopped Kia, striking the three pedestrians, CHP said.
    — Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Feb. 2026
Definition of stopped
Noun
  • While each Republican sheep committed a virtual public hanging of the accomplished Fauci, Laura Ingraham smirked each and every time a Republican lambasted him!
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Specialist decorators have spent thousands of hours painstakingly refreshing the paintwork, reupholstering the furnishings, and replacing the silk wall-hangings with fabric that matches the designs from over seven decades earlier.
    — Irenie Forshaw, TheWeek, 29 July 2026
Definition of hanging
Verb
  • Key Background The crisis appeared to be subsiding somewhat Friday as Spanish authorities said a majority of the 60,000 people who crossed into Ceuta from Morocco over the past several days had returned home.
    — Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • India, one of the world's most prolific IPO markets, was gearing up for issues worth $50 billion as tension in the Middle East were subsiding.
    — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 9 July 2026
Definition of subsiding
Verb
  • Record-low water levels along the Danube River have exposed dozens of German military shipwrecks near the Serbian town of Prahovo, where an estimated 200 vessels were deliberately scuttled by retreating Nazi forces in 1944.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Surveillance video recovered by police showed the two men fighting in an alley and then Britt retreating from Fitzsimmons, according to the charging document.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of retreating
Noun
  • Even after weeks of drying winds, the crackly leaves worked themselves into every corner and declivity.
    — Annie Proulx, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2025
Definition of declivity
Verb
  • Rogers, Rea, and Parks-Shaw all have emphasized the need to be proactive in decreasing the number of lawsuits filed against the Police Department.
    — Freddrell Green, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Activity at Guatemala's Fuego volcano that began Monday morning and caused widespread evacuations is gradually decreasing, authorities said Wednesday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of decreasing
Verb
  • Trump announced last month that there had been a breakthrough in his plan to end the war, with Israeli forces withdrawing as Hamas disarms and an International Stabilization Force working with a new Palestinian police force to secure the enclave.
    — Anniek Bao, CNBC, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The list includes measures such as an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdrawing military forces and permanently ending the war.
    — Hanna Ziady, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of withdrawing
Noun
  • The reef system has faced significant decline for decades due to rising water temperatures, disease and pollution.
    — Joan Murray, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
  • But the decline in cases has been reversed, and experts blame toxic silica dust that is now more common in mines.
    — Brittney Melton, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026
Definition of decline

Browse Nearby Words

recedes (from)
receding
receding (from)
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Receding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/receding. Accessed 10 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on receding

Nglish: Translation of receding for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Aug. 7

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
fridge-magnet-letters
Drop a Letter Quiz August 2026 Drop a letter from a word to make a totally diffe...
See All