Synonyms of devolve
41 similar words · 2 opposite words
Another word for devolve is suffer. Other synonyms of devolve are pass down, pass on, hand down, deteriorate and atrophy. The opposite of devolve is improve.
Synonyms and similar words for devolve
verbTo be inherited by someone else; to pass down upon the next person in a succession, especially...
verbTo degenerate; to break down.
- deteriorate
- atrophy
- break down
- decline
- degenerate
- confound
- fade
- fall off
- go bad
- go downhillTo worsen or degenerate.
- go leftTo take a turn for the worse, to go horribly wrong.
- go off
- go pear-shapedTo go awry; to go wrong.
- go sideways
- go southTo become unfavorable; to decrease; to take a turn for the worse.
- go to hell
- go to pot
- go to seed
- go to the dogsTo decline or deteriorate shockingly.
- go wrongTo worsen; to fail or go amiss; to have a bad outcome.
- lapse
- molderA surname.
- pejorateTo become or make (something) worse; to deteriorate, to worsen.
- retrograde
- sufferTo become worse.
- spend
- sweal
- shrivel
- tabefy
- wither
- wither awayTo atrophy, or waste away.
- wane
- wanseTo wane; waste, waste away; pine; wither.
- worsen
- crack archaic
Opposite of devolve
Meaning of devolve
- verb To be inherited by someone else; to pass down upon the next person in a succession, especially through failure or loss of an earlier holder.
- verb To delegate (a responsibility, duty, etc.) on or upon someone.
- verb To transfer authority and responsibility for (something) to (another entity).
devolve in other languages
Questions about synonyms of devolve
- What is another word for devolve?
- Devolve has 41 synonyms on Word.ws, such as suffer, pass down, pass on, hand down, deteriorate, atrophy, break down and decline.
- What is the opposite of devolve?
- The opposite of devolve is improve.
- What does devolve mean?
- Devolve means to be inherited by someone else; to pass down upon the next person in a succession, especially through failure or loss of an earlier holder.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: devolve (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of devolve.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/devolve. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.