as in to revert
to go back to a previous and usually lower state or level
the quality of research at the university lab has begun to retrogress since the massive budget cuts went into effect
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Recent Examples of retrogress
After the 1960s, after the switch in—the shift in the strategy to gaining political clout, a lot of those trends stalled, slowed, even retrogressed.
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WSJ, 3 July 2017
WSJ, 3 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for retrogress
Verb
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The president has similarly hinted at soon reverting the Department of Defense to the Department of War, the name the Cabinet’s military department bore from 1789 until 1947.—
Christian Datoc,
The Washington Examiner,
4 Sep. 2025
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After issuing its conclusion on Thursday, the DOE gave Denver Public Schools the opportunity to revert the all-gender restrooms back to ones separated by gender or risk further enforcement actions.—
Sonam Sheth
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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After making a positive impact on Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) in her season 2 debut, Chef Terry returned in the season 3 finale to deliver a moving speech about the importance of a restaurant being service to the customer — not the food itself.—
Carson Blackwelder,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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There is doubt, though, the Razorbacks will return for future games.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
7 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Retrogress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/retrogress. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.
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