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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On Monday, at least some members of the group appear to have skied, climbing and descending ridge lines around the Frog Lake area, according to an activity log posted by one of the guides that day, as the storm system closed in and snow began to fall.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
28 Feb. 2026
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Designers, editors, and models are descending on Italy’s fashion capital for Milan Fashion Week—Kendall Jenner and Bella Hadid, familiar faces to the city, have just touched down.—
Anna Cafolla,
Vogue,
25 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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Iran's economy was crumbling, due in large part to stringent Western sanctions, fueling more unrest.—
Jackie Northam,
NPR,
28 Feb. 2026
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The Howard County School Board voted on its 2027 fiscal year budget and finalized future spending plans, but families are concerned about the crumbling schools that have been forgotten.—
Bryant Reed,
CBS News,
27 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 3 Mar. 2026.
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