Word of the Day:

August 28, 2022

devolve

verb dih-VAHLV

What it Means

Devolve means "to gradually go from an advanced state to a less advanced state," or "to pass something, such as responsibility or power, from one person or group to another person or group at a lower level of authority."

// Over time, the weekly book club meetings devolved into mean-spirited gossip sessions.

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Devolve in Context

"'Leslie [Jones] and I talk on the phone all the time, and most of our conversations are us complaining about our lives or the crazy world we live in,' [Lenny] Marcus added. 'It usually just devolves into us cracking each other up.'" — Rashad Grove, Ebony, 1 Aug. 2022

More example sentences

Did You Know?

Evolve? Check. Revolve? Check. Devolve? Now we’re on a roll—literally. All three of these words (and more) evolved from the Latin verb volvere, meaning "to set in a circular course, to cause to roll, to bring round." Latin ēvolvere means "to roll out or away"; Latin revolvere means "to roll back to a starting point"; and Latin dēvolvere means "to roll (something) down." In its earliest uses in the 15th century, devolve was about literally rolling down: it meant "to roll onward or downward." Today the word is typically about a more figurative rolling down, as when an organization devolves power—that is, passes power down—to those at a lower level of authority, or when a deteriorating situation is described as "devolving into chaos." One word, multiple uses. That's just how English rolls.