Synonyms of retrograding

retrograding

verb

present participle of retrograde

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deteriorating
• descending
• worsening
• crumbling
• declining
• degenerating
• diminishing
• devolving
• ebbing
• regressing
• sinking
• decaying
• weakening
• rotting
• atrophying
• disintegrating
• receding
• waning
• falling
• downsizing
• degrading
• going to pot
• sagging
• slipping
• decomposing
• reducing
• going to seed
• dwindling
• undermining
• corrupting
• souring
• putrefying
• abating
• lessening
• moldering
• lagging
• dilapidating
• debilitating
• languishing
• spoiling
• drooping
• failing
• de-escalating
• lowering
• flagging
• wasting (away)
• running down
• wilting
• breaking down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• improving
• ameliorating
• upgrading
• bettering
• intensifying
• strengthening
• enhancing
• meliorating
• developing
• proceeding
• progressing
• advancing
• enriching
• fortifying
• heightening
• marching

Example Sentences

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