retrograde

C2+ Topic:Space, Position & Direction

US /ˈrɛtrəˌɡreɪd/ UK /ˈrɛtrəˌɡreɪd/ See IPA manual

adj verb

Meanings

1

adj
directed or moving backward, or reverting to a worse state

Abolishing the reform would be a retrograde step for the country.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · directed or moving... backwardregressiveretrogressivereverse declining retreating

Opposites

progressive forward advancing directprograde

Word family

Derived forms retrogradation

Related forms retrogress grade gradient degrade progress

Etymology

From Latin retrogradus ('going backward'), from retro ('backward') + gradi ('to step, go'), from gradus ('step').

retrogradus Latin gradi Latin *ghredh- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Space, Position & Direction

# retrograde

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj, verb
**IPA (US):** ˈrɛtrəˌɡreɪd
**IPA (UK):** ˈrɛtrəˌɡreɪd

## Meanings
1. directed or moving backward, or reverting to a worse state

## Examples
- Abolishing the reform would be a retrograde step for the country.

## Synonyms
- backward
- regressive
- retrogressive
- reverse
- declining
- retreating

## Antonyms
- progressive
- forward
- advancing
- direct
- prograde

## Derived Forms
- retrogradation

## Related Forms
- retrogress
- grade
- gradient
- degrade
- progress

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: retrogradus
- Root: gradi
- Root: *ghredh-
- Affix: retro- - backward

## Etymology
From Latin retrogradus ('going backward'), from retro ('backward') + gradi ('to step, go'), from gradus ('step').

## AI Etymology
Retrograde comes from Latin retrogradus ('going backward'), from retro ('backward') + gradi ('to step, go'), from gradus ('step'). The historical chain includes Latin retrogradus, Latin gradi, and Proto-Indo-European *ghredh-. The quoted older senses, "going backward", "backward", "to step, go", and "step", supply the semantic anchors for retrograde. The formation is best read as compound and borrowed: the word retrograde carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a adj, "directed or moving backward, or reverting to a worse state". English derivatives include retrogradation; related English forms include retrogress, grade, gradient, degrade, and progress. The result is a adj and verb whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Space, Position & Direction

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