retrograde
Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travelDirected or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
» The readiest support for planets' having confocal orbits is their sometimes retrograde motion.
halfb1t · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
13 sensesDirected or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
retrograd
ретрогра́дныйretrográdnyj
moving or directed or tending in a backward direction or contrary to a previous direction
Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
Of an animal: appearing to regress to a less developed form during its lifetime.
Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
Having a passage of music played backwards.
Of ideas or a person: opposing social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; conservative.
retrograde ideas, morals, etc.
Of a celestial body orbiting another: in the opposite direction to the orbited body's spin.
moving from east to west on the celestial sphere; or — for planets — around the sun in a direction opposite to that of the Earth
(also, often, postpositional)Of a celestial body: seeming to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement.
Mercury retrograde
Of a metamorphic change: resulting from a decrease in pressure or temperature.
Of amnesia: relating to the period leading up to the episode which caused it.
(archaic)Involving a return to or a retracing of a previous course of travel.
(archaic)Counterproductive to a desired outcome; contradictory, contrary.
Examples
3 sentencesThe readiest support for planets' having confocal orbits is their sometimes retrograde motion.
The US was defeated by the retrograde group of the Taliban.
Seventeen of the moons have a retrograde orbit, meaning they orbit in the opposite direction as Saturn and its other moons.
Translations
3 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearinThe adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards; moving backwards; reverse; palindromic; opposed to change”) (modern French rétrograde), and from their etymon Latin retrōgradus (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards”) (compare Late Latin retrōgradus (“reverse; palindromic”)), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradus (“pace, step”). By surface analysis, retro- + -grade.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
more retrograde, most retrograde| Comparative | more retrograde Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most retrograde Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
5 synonyms- going from better to worse:retrogressive
- moving or directed or tending in a backward direction or contrary to a previous direction:retral
Antonyms
6 antonymsWord family
14 related wordsLessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.