retrenched

verb

past tense of retrench
as in reduced
formal to change the way things are done in order to spend less money When the economy slowed, the company was forced to retrench.

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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 retrenched As House Republicans have retrenched, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee believes at least a dozen more races could be within striking distance. — ABC News, 13 Oct. 2026 Big producer-financiers like Participant Media, which was behind films like Spotlight and Roma, and Bron Studios (Judas and the Black Messiah, The Mule) have shuttered while traditional studios have retrenched themselves in their respective risk-averse fare. — Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 5 Mar. 2026 Super Micro Computer is in growth mode at a time when some tech companies have retrenched in the Bay Area, while others are seeking larger new office spaces. — George Avalos, Mercury News, 22 Jan. 2026 But the business has retrenched recently. — Michael Butler, Miami Herald, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retrenched
  1. reduced
  2. slashed
  3. cut
  4. decreased
  5. pared
  6. shrank
  7. dropped
Verb
  • Taps won't go dry, experts say, in part because Arizona has already reduced its water use over the years.
    — Hannah Knowles The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 19 Oct. 2026
  • But for Deakins, the work is too dependent on the circumstances of a story, and the people telling it, to be reduced to any one method.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of reduced
Verb
  • A day later, Gravitics Holdings slashed its deal size by a whopping 60% ahead of the space-system developer’s $50 million IPO.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
  • France, Sweden, and the United Kingdom all slashed spending on foreign assistance after the United States gutted its own budget.
    — Charles Kupchan, Foreign Affairs, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of slashed
Verb
  • Sullivan denied that the law would cut Medicaid for Alaskans, saying the Affordable Care Act had a greater impact and raised insurance premiums in the state drastically.
    — Matthew Choi The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 17 Oct. 2026
  • The new version of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has been cut from a five-hour show performed across two parts to a single three-hour performance as it is performed on Broadway.
    — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of cut
Verb
  • Now the prevalence of malaria is around 7%, and deaths of children under five decreased by 78%.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The definitive study of feedback, Avraham Kluger and Angelo DeNisi’s meta-analysis of 23,663 observations, found that over a third of feedback interventions decreased performance.
    — Zaharia-Gabriel Sidere, Forbes.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of decreased
Verb
  • All of the nails were glossy and pared back, reminding us of the minimalist glass nail trend.
    — Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Featuring a sleek black column skirt and minimalist stilettos, the look, while pared-back, was far from boring thanks to a creamy sleeveless top with a voluminous feather-like hem.
    — Bianca Betancourt, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of pared
Verb
  • But once the dominant slices of the emissions pie have shrunk, other categories with less potential to reduce emissions become important.
    — Scott K. Johnson, ArsTechnica, 19 Oct. 2026
  • As transistors shrank and chips grew denser, the process called for greater precision.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of shrank
Verb
  • Seckler explains that young people’s trust in institutions and companies has dropped.
    — Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Moody's, citing PitchBook data, said private equity distributions dropped from more than 30% of starting net asset value in 2022 to about 12% today.
    — Hugh Leask, CNBC, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of dropped

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Cite this Entry

“Retrenched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retrenched. Accessed 22 Oct. 2026.

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