retarding

verb

present participle of retard
as in slowing
to cause to move or proceed at a less rapid pace an herbicide to retard the growth of weeds

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for retarding
  1. slowing
  2. braking
Verb
  • Search queries hit a record high in the quarter, Google said, but revenue growth is slowing.
    — Ari Levy, CNBC, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Another potential rate increase would mean pressing the brakes harder on the economy, in turn risking sluggish growth and risk slowing the job market further.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of slowing
Verb
  • This can instantly pressurize individual shock absorbers to counteract body roll, front-to-rear acceleration pitch and hard-braking dive.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Nobody else was pushing to the limit, but Antonelli was braking late, hitting the curbs.
    — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of braking
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

retarded
retarding
retards
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Retarding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retarding. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of satiate

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'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

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 SCRABBLE Dictionary

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All