TAPER Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

taper

verb

ˈtā-pər

Definition of taper

as in to decrease

to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually you'll find the symptoms begin tapering gradually about 24 hours after you take the medicine

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of taper In early November, Tufts and Clancy agreed on a plan to taper her off the benzodiazepine, which the psychiatrist said has a risk of dependency. — Nicki Brown, CNN Money, 14 Aug. 2026 Chico’s is offering up to 60 percent off tapered, cropped, and pull-on styles, but not for much longer. — Destinee Scott, Travel + Leisure, 14 Aug. 2026 Love Joy’s was the only one that resembled the kind of proper house drawn by all school-age children the world over, with proper walls and a roof that properly tapered. — Literary Hub, 3 Aug. 2026 More pertinently, Newcastle’s largesse has tapered even as Premier League clubs are spending ever more. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for taper

Recent Examples of Synonyms for taper

Verb

The researchers’ models suggest that areas near the escarpment could have lost as much as 8 kilometers of rock, with erosion decreasing farther away from the ancient cliff.

— Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026
An early positive working relationship has been struck with Ross Wilson, the sporting director, and the pair usually speak multiple times every day, although their volume of conversations may decrease slightly once the transfer window closes.

— Chris Waugh, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of decrease

Verb

Two of them coincide with areas where satellite radar shows that the ground is actively subsiding.

— Nolan Roth, Scientific American, 23 Aug. 2026
After the smoke subsided, residents reported feeling effects from the stench of rotting meat and food from the warehouse interior, where it had been stored frozen on tall racks that were hundreds of feet across.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of subside

Verb

As more money and attention flow into the space, the challenge is how to capitalize on the cultural cachet of the Grand Slams without diminishing what made that access desirable in the first place.

— Jessica Schiffer, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026
And the Ku Klux Klan, though diminished from its earlier power, had not disappeared.

— Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of diminish

Verb

As the Danube waters shrank in Bulgaria, researchers were thrilled to find and recover a jawbone, tusks, a shoulder blade, ribs and other bone fragments belonging to an extinct woolly mammoth buried deep in the sand.

— CBS News, CBS News, 20 Aug. 2026
That reduction could dramatically shrink the reactor’s physical footprint.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of shrink

Verb

Watts declined Rolling Stone’s multiple requests for an interview and did not specifically address a majority of questions posed to him in a detailed request for comment.

— Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2026
When first baseman Triston Casas suffered a season-ending injury in May, Devers declined to learn the position despite Boston’s dearth of options.

— Justice delos Santos, Mercury News, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of decline

Verb

When night falls, another show begins with a dedicated corner of the estate designed for stargazing.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 20 Aug. 2026
Zinc ions enter the electrode first at higher voltages, while much smaller protons are stored later as the voltage falls.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of fall

Browse Nearby Words

taped

taper

tape recording

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“Taper.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/taper. Accessed 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of taper

verb

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Synonyms of taper

verb

Example Sentences

Phrases Containing taper

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

devolve

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

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Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

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Popular in Wordplay

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Why do we say 'break a leg'?

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