RETRENCHED Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words

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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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 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

Verb

Demand for oil plunged during the war because supply fell sharply and many folks reduced their oil consumption.

— David Goldman, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
Trump reduced the size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah by about 90% each, undoing protections established by former presidents on public lands that are sacred among many Native Americans.

— Elizabeth Robinson, NBC news, 14 July 2026

Definition of reduced

Verb

The firm portfolio exposure to China has been pared down in recent years, from 24% in 2016 to 2026′s figure of 17%.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 8 July 2026
Room décor varies, but many have a Tara Plantation-meets-Montepulciano thing going on, occasionally excessive but mostly pared back—think overstuffed chairs, frilly, floral curtains, exposed wood beam ceilings, and slim wooden furniture.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 July 2026

Definition of pared

Verb

And somewhere while building all of that, the ambition behind it shrank to fit a spreadsheet.

— Jonathan Weeks, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
For years, many watched as their children’s worlds shrank to whatever destinations Mom or Dad had time to drive them, as kids’ use of traditional bicycles gradually declined.

— Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026

Definition of shrank

Verb

Immigration raids and wildfires dissuaded tourists from visiting, and even Canadian tourists who typically make up the largest number of foreign visitors to California dropped 21%.

— Lily Wright, Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2026
Just before the trial was set to commence in May, Lively dropped her lawsuit and settled with Baldoni and Wayfarer.

— Jack Dunn, Variety, 9 July 2026

Definition of dropped

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“Retrenched.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retrenched. Accessed 16 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of retrenched

verb

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