variants
also rachet (down)
as in to decrease
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually
news stories about the kidnapping will ratchet down as the weeks go by
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ratchet (down)
Verb
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Africa’s lion population has decreased by nearly half over the past quarter century, according to the African Wildlife Foundation, and the lion is regionally extinct in 15 African countries.—
Kathryn Romeyn,
AFAR Media,
11 Feb. 2025 -
In other second-quarter statistics, there was a 50.9 percent gross margin rate, representing an increase of 110 basis points year-over-year; inventory decreased 1.3 percent last quarter to 404.6 million euros.—
David Moin,
WWD,
11 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Although his output had diminished, from an availability and form perspective, Villa valued him higher than Douglas Luiz or Diaby and with greater scope for improvement.—
Jacob Tanswell,
The Athletic,
13 Feb. 2025
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This has less to do with a diminishing talent pool than a changing industry where the lines between Corman’s world and Hollywood at large became more sharply drawn.—
Jim Hemphill,
IndieWire,
13 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Abnormally high temperatures above the Hudson Bay and the Labrador Sea helped shrink Arctic sea ice to a record low for January, Copernicus said.—
Raymond Zhong,
New York Times,
6 Feb. 2025
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The device started small, got bigger, but has now shrunk again.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
5 Feb. 2025
Verb
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The rate of the increase in food prices has ebbed significantly but only notched a pre-COVID-19 level in August.—
Alexander Coolidge,
The Arizona Republic,
10 Dec. 2024
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The decrease was even more dramatic — a 28% drop — when measured against numbers from 2022 when violence ebbed after the first two years of the pandemic.—
Libor Jany,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Dec. 2024
Verb
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And yet the United States needs immigrants to offset the declining birth rate in this country.—
Brad Wolf,
Twin Cities,
7 Feb. 2025
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To pressure Canada into joining the U.S., the McKinley tariff explicitly declined to make an exception for Canadian products.—
Marc-William Palen / Made by History,
TIME,
6 Feb. 2025
Verb
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What's Next The storm is expected to taper off by Thursday afternoon, but another round of wintry weather is possible over the weekend.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
Newsweek,
12 Feb. 2025
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The first storm, which impacted a large swath of the state, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento, is expected to taper off by midday Wednesday.—
Hanna Park and Robert Shackelford,
CNN,
5 Feb. 2025
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“Ratchet (down).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ratchet%20%28down%29. Accessed 20 Feb. 2025.
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