retrograde
Syllables: re·tro·grade/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/US/ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/
retrograde adjective: directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
Adjective
retrograde (comparative more retrograde, superlative most retrograde)
- Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
- Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
- Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
- Of ideas or a person: opposing social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; conservative.
- retrograde ideas, morals, etc.
- Such retrograde people still exist, resisting modernity, dragging their feet.1976 September, Saul Bellow, Humboldt’s Gift, New York, N.Y.: Avon Books, →ISBN, page 74
- Synonyms:
- reactionary, traditionalist, backward
- Antonyms:
- liberal, progressist, reformist
- Involving a return to or a retracing of a previous course of travel.
- Counterproductive to a desired outcome; contradictory, contrary.
- In going back to school in Wittenberg, / It is most retrograde to our desire: / And we beseech you, bend you to remainc. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
- Of a celestial body orbiting another: in the opposite direction to the orbited body's spin.
- Of a celestial body: seeming to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement.
- Mercury retrograde
- The inauspicious connotations of Mercury retrograde are actually quite old, evidenced in an ancient branch of astrology known as horary astrology.2018 March 22, Wilder Davies, “Mercury Is Entering Retrograde Again. This Is Why So Many People Care”, in Time, archived from the original on 09 Dec 2023
- Of a metamorphic change: resulting from a decrease in pressure or temperature.
- Antonyms:
- prograde
- Of amnesia: relating to the period leading up to the episode which caused it.
- Of verse: reading the same forwards or backwards; palindromic.
Adverb
retrograde (comparative more retrograde, superlative most retrograde)
- In a reverse direction; backwards.
- Synonyms:
- retrogradely
Noun
retrograde (plural retrogrades)
- A movement backwards or opposite to the intended or normal motion.
- One who opposes social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; a conservative.
- Synonyms:
- mossback, mossyback, reactionary, traditionalist
- One who reneges on an agreement, or switches loyalties; a rebel, a renegade.
- The reversal of a melody so that what is played first in the original melody is played last, and what is played last in the original melody is played first.
Verb
retrograde (third-person singular simple present retrogrades, present participle retrograding, simple past and past participle retrograded)
- 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.
- To change (minerals, rocks, etc.) metamorphically through a decrease in pressure or temperature.
- To cause (someone or something) to revert to an inferior or less developed state.
- To revert to an inferior or less developed state; to decline, to regress.
- […] Monna Brigida, who had retrograded to false hair in Romola's absence, but now drew it off again and declared she would not mind being gray, if her dear child would stay with her.1862 July – 1863 August, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], Romola. […], volume III, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1863, →OCLC, book III, page 260
- 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.
- Of a land feature: to travel in the direction of the land or upstream due to erosion.
- To retreat or withdraw from a position.
- To move backwards; to recede.
- A dabble in the stocks does not always turn out profitably; cotton is sometimes heavy on our hands, and real estate will sulkily retrograde, when, by the calculation, it ought to have advanced.1845, Joseph C. Neal, “The Moral of Goslyne Greene, who was Born to a Fortune”, in The Gift: A Christmas, New Year, and Birthday Present, Philadelphia, Pa.: Carey and Hart, →OCLC, page 68
- Of the telling of an incident, etc.: to move to an earlier time.
retrograde meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
retrograde in Hindi
- or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel
- प्रतिगामी pratigāmī
retrograde in Tamil
- பின்போக்கு மனப்பான்மை, பிற்போக்கு, பின்போக்கு
retrograde in Marathi
- प्रतिगामी, प्रतिगामीकरण
retrograde in Urdu
- پرانحطاط, رجعت پسند, الٹ, زوال پذیر
More languagesFewer languages
- retrograde in Bengali
- পিছিয়ে যাওয়া, অবনতিশীল
- retrograde in Telugu
- రెట్రోగ్రేడింగ్
- retrograde in Malayalam
- പിന്തിരിപ്പൻ, പ്രതിലോമ, പ്രതിലോമഗതിയുള്ള, പ്രതിലോമഗതിയായ
- retrograde in Kannada
- ಹಿಮ್ಮೆಟ್ಟುವ, ಹಿಂದೆ ಹೋಗುವ, ಹದಗೆಡುವ, ಹಿಮ್ಮುಖವಾದ
- retrograde in Punjabi
- ਰੀਟ੍ਰੋਗਰੇਡਿੰਗ, ਰੀਟ੍ਰੋਗ੍ਰੈਡਿੰਗ, ਰੀਟ੍ਰੋਗ੍ਰੇਡਿੰਗ
- retrograde in Gujarati
- રીટ્રોગ્રેડિંગ
- retrograde in Odia
- ପ୍ରତିଗାମୀ
- retrograde in Nepali
- प्रतिगामी, प्रतिगामीकरण
- retrograde in Persian
- بازگشتی bâzgašti, بازگشتن bâzgaštan
Examples of retrograde in a sentence
- Anterograde tracing is a research technique which is used to trace neural connections from their source to their point of termination. The opposite technique is retrograde tracing.
- Reproductive outflow tract obstruction can predispose to development of endometriosis, through exacervation of retrograde menstruation.
- Retrograde irrigation of the renal pelvis with litholytic solutions (Instrumental kidney stone chemolysis).
Synonyms of retrograde
Antonyms
Forms of retrograde
| Adjective | |
|---|---|
| comparative | more retrograde |
| superlative | most retrograde |
| Adverb | |
| comparative | more retrograde |
| superlative | most retrograde |
| Noun | |
| plural | retrogrades |
| Verb | |
| third-person singular present | retrogrades |
| present participle | retrograding |
| past participle | retrograded |
| past | retrograded |
Origin of retrograde
The adjective is derived from Middle English retrograd, retrograde (“of a planet: appearing to move in a direction opposite to the order of the zodiac signs, retrograde; unfortunate”), from Middle French retrograde and Old French retrograde (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards; moving backwards; reverse; palindromic; opposed to change”) (modern French rétrograde), and from their etymon Latin retrōgradus (“of a celestial object: appearing to move backwards”) (compare Late Latin retrōgradus (“reverse; palindromic”)), from retrō (“back, backwards; behind; before, formerly”) + gradus (“pace, step”). By surface analysis, retro- + -grade. The adverb and noun are derived from the adjective.
From 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”)).
Words formed from retrograde
- dorsoretrograde
- endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
- Mercury retrograde problem
- nonretrograde
- retrograde amnesia
- retrograde ejaculation
- retrograde inversion
- retrogradely
- retrograde motion
- retrogradeness
- retrograde neurotransmitter
- retrograde perfusion
- retrogradism
- retrogradist
- retrograded
- retrogradingly
Phrases with retrograde
Questions about retrograde
- What does retrograde mean?
- Retrograde means directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
- What is retrograde in Hindi?
- Retrograde in Hindi is प्रतिगामी (pratigāmī). See Retrograde meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is retrograde?
- Retrograde can be an adjective, an adverb, a noun or a verb.
- How do you pronounce retrograde?
- Retrograde is pronounced /ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/ (UK).
Words near retrograde in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: retrograde (page history and authors); retrograde (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retrograde (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); retrograde (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retrograde (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retrograde (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); retrograde (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); retrograde (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); retrograde (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); retrograde (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); retrograde (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); retrograde (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-retrograde.wav.
Cite this entry: “retrograde.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/retrograde. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.