as in decreased
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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as in stepped
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Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tapered
Verb
-
Its pandemic subsided in 1969, but the virus continued to circulate, eventually becoming a part of the regular seasonal flu strain.—
Amanda Castro,
Newsweek,
27 Dec. 2024 -
When the waves finally subsided, there was nothing but silence.—
Michael Fiorentino,
NBC News,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
For months, John was confined to his bed and was off work for six months, before making a gradual return to teaching in September 2022.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Aug. 2025
-
The floodwaters, which broke through a dam of glacial ice, are an example of how gradual shifts to the climate are sometimes punctuated by sudden drama that can rapidly reshape a landscape.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
14 Aug. 2025
Verb
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The average grade of ore has also diminished by around 40% since 1991, BHP says.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
16 Mar. 2025
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The appetite of high street banks for lending has diminished, and investors are now much more focused on profitability and a clear understanding of runway rather than just fueling growth at any cost.—
Paul Klein,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Trees must be felled with dangerous and expensive equipment, dragged up muddy and steep slopes with cables, cut into lengths, loaded onto trucks and hauled.—
William Baldwin,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
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In reality, what felled her was not just one gangster’s greed but an entire organization’s—the inheritors of Rothstein’s operation—zeroing in on a mom-and-pop, or at least a mom, business, as big enterprises always do.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
4 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Part of that is a rejection of decades of progressivism and progressive values, which had become the Establishment.—
Chris Lee,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
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The erosion of support was the result of a miscalculation: renewable advocates aligned too closely with progressive climate politics, turning an industry once embraced by all into a left-wing cause, alienating conservatives along the way.—
Leo Schwartz,
Fortune,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
The lingering worries in his mind were eased.—
Cody Stavenhagen,
New York Times,
13 Apr. 2025
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Some of the injuries which precipitated that slump have eased.—
Sam Lee,
New York Times,
11 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Tapered.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tapered. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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