retrograde
To cause to undergo retrogradation, that is, to travel in the direction of the land or…To cause (a land feature such as a coastline or waterfall) to undergo retrogradation, that is, to travel in the direction of the land or upstream due to erosion.
» The readiest support for planets' having confocal orbits is their sometimes retrograde motion.
halfb1t · Tatoeba · CC BY 2.0 FRMeaning
9 senses(transitive)To cause (a land feature such as a coastline or waterfall) to undergo retrogradation, that is, to travel in the direction of the land or upstream due to erosion.
(transitive)To change (minerals, rocks, etc.) metamorphically through a decrease in pressure or temperature.
(intransitive)To revert to an inferior or less developed state; to decline, to regress.
(intransitive)Of a celestial body, especially a planet: to show retrogradation; to seem to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement.
(intransitive)Of a land feature: to travel in the direction of the land or upstream due to erosion.
(intransitive)To retreat or withdraw from a position.
(obsolete, transitive)To cause (someone or something) to revert to an inferior or less developed state.
(intransitive, obsolete)To move backwards; to recede.
move back
(intransitive, obsolete)Of the telling of an incident, etc.: to move to an earlier time.
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
1 languagesOrigin
From Middle French retrograder (“to (cause to) go back, return; to (cause to) move backwarFrom Middle French retrograder (“to (cause to) go back, return; to (cause to) move backwards; of a celestial object: to show retrograde motion; to date to an earlier period”) (modern French rétrograder), and from its etymon Latin retrōgradī (“to go or step back or backwards; of a celestial object: to show retrograde motion”) (compare Late Latin retrogradare, retrogradari, retrogredere), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradior (“to step, walk; to advance, go”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʰredʰ- (“to go; to walk”)).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
retrogrades, retrograding, retrograded, retrograded| Base form | retrograde · to retrograde |
|---|---|
| 3rd person singular | retrogrades |
| Present participle | retrograding |
| Past simple | retrograded |
| Past participle | retrograded |
regular · Lesson
Synonyms
5 synonyms- go back over:rehashhash over
- move back:retreat
- get worse or fall back to a previous condition:regressretrogress
Word family
4 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, regular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle