as in deteriorating
to become worse or of less value
the Dark Ages, the period following the fall of the Roman Empire when Western civilization seriously retrograded
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Recent Examples of retrograding
Among these were melodic concepts like inversion (flipping a tune), transposition (shifting it up or down scales), retrograding (reversal), and translation (movement over time).
—
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Feb. 2026
Mercury retrograding back into Scorpio wants to get to the bottom of your contracts.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 18 Nov. 2025
And then comes the 11/11 portal, where Jupiter begins retrograding in Cancer, your sector of home, family, and emotional roots.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 9 Nov. 2025
Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 19 Feb. 2026
Mercury retrograding back into Scorpio wants to get to the bottom of your contracts.
—Usa Today, USA Today, 18 Nov. 2025
And then comes the 11/11 portal, where Jupiter begins retrograding in Cancer, your sector of home, family, and emotional roots.
—Dossé-Via Trenou, Refinery29, 9 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retrograding
Verb
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Officials said that the food security situation is deteriorating because of water shortages, insecurity, conflict and historically low levels of humanitarian assistance linked to global funding cuts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
24 Feb. 2026
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Human rights groups in Senegal say that the situation for gay people in the country has been deteriorating since 2018, and that at least a dozen people have been arrested in recent weeks over allegations of homosexuality.—
Ope Adetayo,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Antibus said forecasters at the Sierra Avalanche Center are concerned about a swath of people descending into the backcountry’s slopes and triggering numerous avalanches.—
Camila Pedrosa,
Sacbee.com,
20 Feb. 2026
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Buyers, sellers, and everyone in between are descending on the capital in decent spirits, seeking out the next big thing.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Beyond the confrontation at sea, Cuba is still grappling with a worsening economic crisis.—
Erika Gonzalez,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
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But relations aren’t exclusively sour — Trump has in the past few days kept EU tariff rates at 10% rather than rising to 15% — and Godard said this could have a bearing on the Paramount-WBD deal’s regulatory path, along with fear over future, worsening tariffs.—
Max Goldbart,
Deadline,
27 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Complaints are growing in the Northern California city of Roseville over crumbling walkways, dead trees, and broken soundwalls.—
James Taylor,
CBS News,
21 Feb. 2026
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Once the blocks and spires of Palma faded into the distance, the 25-minute drive from the airport took me past crumbling homes, fields of curious farm animals, and not a soul in sight for miles at a time.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
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During his speech on Tuesday, the President suggested that those prices were declining.—
Chantelle Lee,
Time,
27 Feb. 2026
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Chelsea have carried significant operating losses in recent years, topping £200m in each of the three seasons before last, as declining revenues combined with significant cost increases.—
Chris Weatherspoon,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retrograding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retrograding. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
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