EBBING Synonyms: 186 Similar and Opposite Words

ebbing 1 of 3

noun

as in deterioration

a gradual sinking and wasting away of mind or body seniors who stay active can keep at bay some of the inevitable ebbing of the memory that comes with advanced years

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

ebbing

2 of 3

adjective

as in waning

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Dissimilar Words

ebbing

3 of 3

verb

present participle of ebb

as in deteriorating

to become worse or of less value the fortunes of the town slowly ebbed as factory after textile factory closed

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in subsiding

to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually the howling winds ebbed as the hurricane moved into the interior

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of ebbing

Noun

What's more, CEOs say there are no signs of consumer demand ebbing. — Doug Gollan, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026 Perplexed, Smith texted her friend Jackie Caplan-Auerbach to see if the Western Washington University seismologist might know if this odd ebbing and flowing could be the result of a nearby landslide. — Megan I. Gannon, Scientific American, 6 May 2026 Those who feel their power ebbing, however, may bluster and bellow. — David Frum, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026 Any ebbing of drone strikes could be deceptive, with Iran amassing them for another swarming assault. — Mikhail Alexseev, Twin Cities, 22 Mar. 2026 In that period, with the Covid pandemic ebbing, thousands were detained and sent home. — Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025

Verb

The autocracies are surging, and democracies ebbing. — Simon Sebag Montefiore, The Atlantic, 28 June 2026 That number has fluctuated from a high of 115,000 in May to a low of about 16,000 on the day before this column was published, ebbing and flowing as tickets were purchased, new batches were released and FIFA (maybe) pulled back others. — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 10 June 2026 The emergency itself seems to be ebbing. — Andre Mouchard, Oc Register, 2 June 2026 An outbreak forced farmers and commercial producers to slaughter entire broods of egg-laying hens, but ebbing cases in the second half of last year helped restore egg supplies, said Mark Jordan, the executive director of agricultural research firm LEAP Market Analytics. — ABC News, 1 Apr. 2026 The effects of its costly price war with T-Mobile seem to be ebbing. — Josh Brown,sean Russo, CNBC, 30 Mar. 2026 They wed in September 2021, in the ebbing months of the pandemic. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 16 Jan. 2026 The state’s political appetite to keep transitioning away from oil has been clearly ebbing as residents balk at the cost of everything in California, most notably the chronically high cost of gasoline and the periodic spikes during a hiccup in production. — Tom Philp, Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2026 Daylight was ebbing as rescuers set up. — Alan Gionet, CBS News, 8 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ebbing

Noun

Caregivers like Sherwood report mass burnout, financial strain and deterioration of their own physical and mental health from the stress of providing constant care.

— Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 8 Aug. 2026
The county has been attempting to chip away at its road maintenance backlog for years, but much of its transportation budget has gone toward preventing further deterioration.

— Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of deterioration

Verb

Guzmán pointed to Colombia’s deteriorating fiscal position as the administration’s most immediate challenge.

— Armando Regil Velasco, FOXNews.com, 8 Aug. 2026
The deteriorating security situation at sea is a huge challenge for everybody in the maritime shipping community.

— Craig Hooper, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of deteriorating

Verb

Key Background The crisis appeared to be subsiding somewhat Friday as Spanish authorities said a majority of the 60,000 people who crossed into Ceuta from Morocco over the past several days had returned home.

— Sara Dorn, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
India, one of the world's most prolific IPO markets, was gearing up for issues worth $50 billion as tension in the Middle East were subsiding.

— Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 9 July 2026

Definition of subsiding

Noun

Then slow weakening is forecast as the storm moves over cooler waters and encounters dry air and wind shear.

— Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026
But lawmakers overrode those objections, and the disputes ultimately reached the Supreme Court, which environmental advocates increasingly view as the last line of defense against the weakening of environmental protections in Brazil.

— ABC News, ABC News, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of weakening

Verb

Rogers, Rea, and Parks-Shaw all have emphasized the need to be proactive in decreasing the number of lawsuits filed against the Police Department.

— Freddrell Green, Kansas City Star, 6 Aug. 2026
Activity at Guatemala's Fuego volcano that began Monday morning and caused widespread evacuations is gradually decreasing, authorities said Wednesday.

— ABC News, ABC News, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of decreasing

Noun

Voyager 2 and its twin launched in 1977, called Voyager 1, rely on a form of nuclear battery known as a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that uses the heat produced by the decay of plutonium.

— Elizabeth Howell, Space.com, 7 Aug. 2026
Tritium undergoes radioactive decay, emitting particles that can degrade porous materials over time.

— Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of decay

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“Ebbing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ebbing. Accessed 13 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of ebbing

noun

adjective

verb

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