How to Use devolve in a Sentence

devolve

verb
  • Somehow the debate devolved into a petty competition to see who could get more applause.
  • Community leaders hope that the new government will devolve more power to the community itself.
  • She cynically asserts that our species is devolving.
  • Responsibility has devolved to the individual teachers.
  • It’s devolved this season, taking the fun out of the race.
    Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
  • The parade devolved into a show-and-tell, a meet-and-greet.
    Joan Niesen, SI.com, 16 June 2019
  • The two seemed to agree to meet for coffee, but the situation devolved yet again.
    Stefan Becket, CBS News, 14 Nov. 2023
  • The film featured the stars as two women who take on a road trip that devolves into a crime spree.
    Tommy McArdle, Peoplemag, 18 Mar. 2024
  • The scene, as captured in the video above, devolved into chaos anyway.
    Julia Alexander, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2018
  • The night quickly devolves into a tricky game of cat-and-mouse as the two vie for control, power, and love.
    James Grebey, Vulture, 2 June 2023
  • While Album of the Year may turn into a small mess, Song of the Year could devolve into full-on chaos.
    Vulture, 31 Mar. 2022
  • For Butler and the Heat the relationship has devolved to the seeming point of cliche.
    Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 22 Jan. 2025
  • And, a lot to lose if the situation devolves into a fight.
    Joey Garrison, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2023
  • Meanwhile, behind the scenes, founders may devolve into a last-minute fight over the scraps.
    Wired, 19 Nov. 2019
  • Later, the guys talk how the bullpen has devolved into a null-pen and how pitching as a whole isn't getting the job done.
    Kirkland Crawford, Detroit Free Press, 10 Apr. 2023
  • And this whole thing has just sort of devolved into something that's kind of a head-scratcher.
    Clark Collis, EW.com, 28 Apr. 2023
  • Since arriving at my home, the son’s prospects have devolved.
    Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 16 May 2024
  • Two years ago, the race devolved in a wild west wreck-fest that ended with only eight of the 22 cars that started the race still on track.
    Jim Ayello, Indianapolis Star, 5 June 2019
  • This whole thing has just sort of devolved into something that’s kind of a head-scratcher.
    Steve Mollman, Fortune, 29 Apr. 2023
  • Since the coup, Myanmar has devolved into a state of civil war.
    Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, 17 Apr. 2024
  • In contrast, the South looked cluttered from the start and only devolved into chaos.
    Jon Wilner Pac-12 Hotline, The Seattle Times, 23 Jan. 2019
  • For the next year, my life devolved into a roving crisis.
    Winston Ross, Longreads, 8 Dec. 2019
  • But as the debate played out, the scene devolved into a spectacle.
    New York Times, 15 July 2019
  • And something has devolved, and there’s no way to hear that and not try to help these families have their stories be heard.
    Christi Carras, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2023
  • The child’s harried voice had devolved into the word salad of the psychotic.
    The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2019
  • As in the novel, the character study devolves into caper at the end.
    Alexandra Lange, Curbed, 13 Aug. 2019
  • But even the good news devolves into more complaints about what isn’t going right.
    R. Eric Thomas, The Mercury News, 2 Dec. 2024
  • The Knives Out actor added that the problem of juggling art and celebrity has devolved thanks to the rise of social media.
    Stephen Daw, Billboard, 25 Nov. 2024
  • Decision-making power in the mission to transport Mars’s rocks to Earth devolved to Donald Trump.
    Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025
  • But their picture-perfect romance quickly devolved, with his erectile dysfunction and her fertility issues driving them apart.
    John Russell, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'devolve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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