as in deteriorated
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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Recent Examples of atrophied
Over the past three decades, the defense industrial bases of Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States have atrophied.
—
Gary Roughead, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2025
The 2022 invasion reinvigorated a domestic defense industry that had atrophied beyond recognition since Soviet times.
—Tamar Jacoby, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
That episode drives home how deeply the oversight capacities of the American system have atrophied in its wake.
—Chris Lehmann, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
At the same time, the Nation’s nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure has severely atrophied, leaving the United States heavily dependent on foreign sources of uranium as well as uranium enrichment and conversion services.
—Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 12 Aug. 2025
Murena's tablet pushed me to use Google Search—whose ads, AI, and seemingly arbitrary algorithms have atrophied its search experience in recent years—less.
—Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025
Gary Roughead, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2025
The 2022 invasion reinvigorated a domestic defense industry that had atrophied beyond recognition since Soviet times.
—Tamar Jacoby, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
That episode drives home how deeply the oversight capacities of the American system have atrophied in its wake.
—Chris Lehmann, Harpers Magazine, 20 Aug. 2025
At the same time, the Nation’s nuclear fuel cycle infrastructure has severely atrophied, leaving the United States heavily dependent on foreign sources of uranium as well as uranium enrichment and conversion services.
—Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 12 Aug. 2025
Murena's tablet pushed me to use Google Search—whose ads, AI, and seemingly arbitrary algorithms have atrophied its search experience in recent years—less.
—Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 5 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for atrophied
Verb
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But the relations have deteriorated significantly since the start of the war in Gaza, with Israeli officials voicing growing anger at Qatar, accusing the government of harboring Hamas and not putting enough pressure on it to agree to a ceasefire.—
Oren Liebermann,
CNN Money,
11 Sep. 2025
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The Republican president returned to office in January promising to reinvigorate relations with Netanyahu that had deteriorated under his Democratic predecessor.—
Gram Slattery,
USA Today,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But when attendees arrived on the remote island, there was little food — except, famously, cheese sandwiches — along with tents for housing and no actual music performances as the festival crumbled, with McFarland blaming improper infrastructure.—
Conor Murray,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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These figures are in pass protection, meaning that the line has crumbled under pass rushers pretty often with Burrow taking snaps.—
James Brizuela,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The gender wage gap among full-time workers also worsened in 2024.—
Kamaron McNair,
CNBC,
11 Sep. 2025
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The persecution worsened more than a decade ago during uprisings that remade the Middle East by toppling dictators — including Egyptian strongman Hosni Mubarak — but in some places spiraled into civil war.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The hearing repeatedly descended into shouting.—
Dan Gooding
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Sep. 2025
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Thousands of people descended on the Missouri Capitol last week to protest the gerrymandering attempt.—
Kacen Bayless,
Kansas City Star,
16 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In reality, some groups of enemies are just much easier to defeat by sticking to a single weapon, even if the damage output is diminished.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
18 Sep. 2025
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This is significant because China represents a substantial portion of revenue for EDA vendors, and the uncertainty has diminished confidence just as local competitors are being encouraged by Beijing to enter the market.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
17 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Atrophied.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/atrophied. Accessed 20 Sep. 2025.
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