ATROPHY Synonyms: 94 Similar and Opposite Words

atrophy 1 of 2

verb

Definition of atrophy

as in to deteriorate

to become worse or of less value in the years following the closing of the last textile mill, the town atrophied

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

atrophy

2 of 2

noun

as in degeneration

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Example Sentences

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 atrophy

Verb

What is your advice for people who are trying to either develop or redevelop this atrophying muscle of curiosity and attention? — Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026 The missive cites a slew of studies suggesting that AI software such as ChatGPT may atrophy critical thinking skills and creativity during the crucial developmental years of elementary and high school. — Tessa Solomon, ARTnews.com, 24 June 2026

Noun

Aviation learned, repeatedly and expensively, what happens when human skills atrophy inside that gap. — IEEE Spectrum, 2 Sep. 2026 His football endurance might still be coming along; his football instincts might still be creeping back; his contact-balance is still a skill that needs to be strengthened after years of atrophy. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 22 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for atrophy

Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrophy

Verb

Such a summit would be unprecedented and deeply alarming to Ukraine’s European allies, particularly as relations between Washington and Kyiv deteriorate.

— Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
The situation deteriorated further after the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975.

— ABC News, ABC News, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of deteriorate

Noun

The genetic disorder causes degeneration of the light sensing cells in the retina, which can degrade peripheral and night vision so much that patients can become legally blind by young adulthood.

— O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 8 Oct. 2026
When nobody has coached a person into this transition, the degeneration is quick.

— Vikas Arora, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of degeneration

Noun

Unlike Netflix, Disney is wrestling with the ongoing deterioration of linear TV.

— Todd Spangler, Variety, 16 Oct. 2026
That creates a different situation when a condition begins with something a resident or guest did rather than deterioration of the building or a maintenance issue.

— Emma Clapp, Miami Herald, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of deterioration

Verb

By Saturday night, Long Beach reported that seawater had entered homes and into streets, with the city’s Peninsula neighborhood being hard hit, and its boardwalk crumbling.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
As Ray goes down the rabbit hole, the shiny facade of Metropia and Megamax (which is, notably and obviously evil from the start) begin to crumble.

— Kate Erbland, IndieWire, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of crumble

Noun

But the eleventh-hour blitz of No On 3 ads that Keep Florida Clean funded, warning of the greed of Big Weed, inflamed voters’ private worries of societal decay.

— Christopher Spata, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026
The commercial benchmark, by comparison, showed continuous performance decay during testing.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026

Definition of decay

Verb

The 20 countries at greatest risk of a worsening humanitarian crisis, ranked by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) annually in our Emergency Watchlist, represent just 12% of the global population, but 90% of those in humanitarian need.

— David Miliband, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
Both have become tools for wealthy families seeking easier travel or a fallback if political and economic conditions worsen at home.

— Mia Osmonbekov, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of worsen

Noun

The hurricane center said the storm's intensity could fluctuate over the next few days but would likely maintain hurricane strength through Thursday, with gradual weakening forecast thereafter.

— CBS News, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
The networks learn to recognize patterns by strengthening and weakening connections between nodes in response to training data.

— Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of weakening

Browse Nearby Words

atrophies

atrophy

atrophying

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Cite this Entry

Style

“Atrophy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrophy. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of atrophy

verb

noun

Example Sentences

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