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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Blackouts now last most of the day in many Cuban cities, tourism is dwindling, and some foreign companies have begun to pull their personnel from the island amid deteriorating conditions.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
17 Mar. 2026
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Loose or deteriorating flashings, which can be caused by harsh winter weather and changing temperatures, are one of the most common sources of roof leaks.—
Asia London Palomba,
The Spruce,
16 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Footage from the scene shows the paraglider descending toward a slope filled with skiers and snowboarders.—
Kelly McGreal,
FOXNews.com,
12 Mar. 2026
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On Wednesday, astronomer and satellite tracker Jonathan McDowell reported that a large collection of Starlink satellites has been descending, cutting the distance for the satellite beams to reach Earth.—
Michael Kan,
PC Magazine,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The country is facing a worsening economic crisis.—
Sam Meredith,
CNBC,
13 Mar. 2026
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Worries are worsening that the war could block the production of oil in the Persian Gulf for a long time and cause a debilitating surge of inflation for the global economy.—
Stan Choe,
Los Angeles Times,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Toki died waiting in a filthy, crumbling tank at one of the oldest marine parks in the world.—
Valerie Greene,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 Mar. 2026
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No player on this Florida roster has watched an SEC Championship before, yet now the Gators get the pleasure of waiting and seeing whether their crumbling still warrants a spot along the top-seed line.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
14 Mar. 2026
Verb
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And the financial incentive for workers to take the leap to a new job has been steadily declining for years, as employees cling to their roles and hiring stagnates.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
12 Mar. 2026
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For city officials, the agreement marks the most significant progress yet in their efforts to see the Sunrise Mall redeveloped from a declining retail center into a vibrant, mixed-use property with housing, entertainment and hotels.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Retrograding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retrograding. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
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