receding 1 of 3

adjective

as in retrogressing

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receding

2 of 3

noun

as in hanging

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receding

3 of 3

verb

present participle of recede
1
as in subsiding
to grow less in scope or intensity especially gradually the sound of sirens receded as the fire engines roared off into the distance

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2
as in retreating
to move back or away (as from something difficult, dangerous, or disagreeable) after the rain stops, the floodwaters should gradually recede

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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 receding
Verb
With his hair receding, Jordan shaved his head clean in 1989 and turned the look into one of the most recognisable images in sport. — Amelie Claydon, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026 Authorities in Hungary closed Budapest’s Margaret Bridge after a bomb dating from World War II emerged at its base in receding water. — Sam McNeil, Los Angeles Times, 24 Aug. 2026 When Lake Mead last plunged to record-low water levels in 2022, its dramatically receding shoreline revealed all manner of curiosities. — Elizabeth Wolfe, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026 In August 2025, the remains of a British researcher who vanished in 1959 in Antarctica were discovered amid rocks near a receding glacier on King George Island, located off the Antarctic Peninsula. — CBS News, 19 Aug. 2026 The discovery of bodies in receding glaciers isn’t new for the region. — Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026 The lake's receding waters are also uncovering ghost towns flooded when the Hoover Dam was built, along with prehistoric salt mines. — Trevor Hughes, USA Today, 18 Aug. 2026 This is a short term arrangement till a more permanent construction is completed in the coming weeks that will manage water flow in the receding river. — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 17 Aug. 2026 Although White River water levels are slowly receding from historic peaks, any additional rain could cause more flooding, the NWS said. — Bradley Hohulin, IndyStar, 17 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for receding
  1. stopped
  2. hanging
  3. subsiding
  4. retreating
  5. declivity
  6. decreasing
  7. withdrawing
  8. decline
Adjective
  • Three other vehicles with human drivers then appeared to illegally pass the stopped bus.
    — Keri Heath, Austin American Statesman, 3 Mar. 2026
  • The truck crossed into the eastbound lane and crashed into the stopped Kia, striking the three pedestrians, CHP said.
    — Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle, 17 Feb. 2026
Definition of stopped
Noun
  • Those hangings were ultimately ruled as suicides, but widespread criticism of the investigation into the death of Nolan Xavier Wells, off Mississippi’s Gulf Coast last month, has further led to questions about how Fortune died.
    — Chris Boyette, CNN Money, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Friday's hanging was the first by Takaichi's government and took place during a parliamentary recess — a move criticized as a tactic to avoid public debate.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of hanging
Verb
  • Two of them coincide with areas where satellite radar shows that the ground is actively subsiding.
    — Nolan Roth, Scientific American, 23 Aug. 2026
  • 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
Definition of subsiding
Verb
  • Achord is in the huddle every play before retreating to the sideline.
    — Matt Schneidman, New York Times, 25 Aug. 2026
  • Skywatchers will not only see the moon change color, but also witness the sharp, curved edge of Earth’s shadow steadily advancing across — and later retreating from — the lunar surface.
    — Jamie Carter, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026
Definition of retreating
Noun
  • Even after weeks of drying winds, the crackly leaves worked themselves into every corner and declivity.
    — Annie Proulx, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2025
Definition of declivity
Verb
  • The researchers’ models suggest that areas near the escarpment could have lost as much as 8 kilometers of rock, with erosion decreasing farther away from the ancient cliff.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 21 Aug. 2026
  • How Perimenopause Affects Bones and Muscle Perimenopause typically begins in a woman’s late 40s or early 50s and lasts about seven years, marked by decreasing estrogen, according to PennState Health.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of decreasing
Verb
  • The scheme reportedly involved depositing checks from accounts with insufficient funds, then withdrawing the temporarily available money, leaving the banks to absorb the losses once the checks bounced, court records show.
    — Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 23 Aug. 2026
  • Numerous energy projects end up withdrawing entirely from the process.
    — Ray Fernandez, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of withdrawing
Noun
  • That rapid decline makes the question of how coach Dan Campbell and the team rebound one of the most interesting in the entire league.
    — NBC Sports, NBC news, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The local enrollment declines are mostly concentrated in local districts’ elementary schools.
    — Steven Walker, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of decline

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Cite this Entry

“Receding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/receding. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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