retrograde
Part of speech: adj
adv
noun
verb
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: astrology
astronomy
biology
communications
entertainment
geography
geology
government
human-sciences
journalism
lifestyle
literature
media
medicine
military
music
mysticism
natural-sciences
philosophy
poetry
politics
publishing
sciences
war
writing
zoology
Etymology: 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.
Inflected forms:
form: more retrograde
pos: adj
tags: comparative
form: most retrograde
pos: adj
tags: superlative
form: more retrograde
pos: adv
tags: comparative
form: most retrograde
pos: adv
tags: superlative
form: retrogrades
pos: noun
tags: plural
form: retrogrades
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: retrograding
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: retrograded
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: retrograded
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: Directed or moving backwards in relation to the normal or previous direction of travel; retreating.
pos: adj
gloss: Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
pos: adj
gloss: Reverting to an inferior or less developed state; declining, regressing.
pos: adj
gloss: Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
pos: adj
gloss: Of the order of something: inverse, reverse.
pos: adj
gloss: Of ideas or a person: opposing social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; conservative.
pos: adj
examples: retrograde ideas, morals, etc.
Such retrograde people still exist, resisting modernity, dragging their feet.
[…] in the form of the pussyfooted Alexis Smith. While referring to [Cole] Porter's 1946 film (alleged) biography, Night and Day, she mentions there were "certain aspects of the story which at that time they could not do." Was "certain aspects" a euphemism for gay? Smith's misplaced politeness here is truly retrograde.
gloss: Involving a return to or a retracing of a previous course of travel.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
gloss: Counterproductive to a desired outcome; contradictory, contrary.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
examples: In going back to school in Wittenberg, / It is most retrograde to our desire: / And we beseech you, bend you to remain
gloss: Of a celestial body orbiting another: in the opposite direction to the orbited body's spin.
pos: adj
gloss: Of a celestial body: seeming to move across the sky in the opposite direction from its ordinary movement.
pos: adj
tags: also
often
postpositional
examples: Mercury retrograde
The inauspicious connotations of Mercury retrograde are actually quite old, evidenced in an ancient branch of astrology known as horary astrology.
gloss: Of a metamorphic change: resulting from a decrease in pressure or temperature.
pos: adj
gloss: Of amnesia: relating to the period leading up to the episode which caused it.
pos: adj
gloss: Of verse: reading the same forwards or backwards; palindromic.
pos: adj
tags: archaic
gloss: In a reverse direction; backwards.
pos: adv
gloss: A movement backwards or opposite to the intended or normal motion.
pos: noun
gloss: A movement backwards or opposite to the intended or normal motion.
pos: noun
gloss: One who opposes social reform, favouring the maintenance of the status quo; a conservative.
pos: noun
gloss: One who reneges on an agreement, or switches loyalties; a rebel, a renegade.
pos: noun
tags: archaic
gloss: 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.
pos: noun
gloss: 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.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To change (minerals, rocks, etc.) metamorphically through a decrease in pressure or temperature.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To cause (someone or something) to revert to an inferior or less developed state.
pos: verb
tags: obsolete
transitive
gloss: To revert to an inferior or less developed state; to decline, to regress.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: […] 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.
gloss: 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.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: Of a land feature: to travel in the direction of the land or upstream due to erosion.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: To retreat or withdraw from a position.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
gloss: To move backwards; to recede.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
examples: 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.
gloss: Of the telling of an incident, etc.: to move to an earlier time.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
obsolete
Antonyms: anterograde
prograde
Related words: posigrade
retrogradation
retrogress
retrogression
retrogressive
Derived words: dorsoretrograde
endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
nonretrograde
retrograde amnesia
retrograde ejaculation
retrograde inversion
retrogradely
retrograde motion
retrogradeness
retrograde neurotransmitter
retrograde perfusion
retrogradism
retrogradist
retrograded
retrogradingly
Translations:
lang: Catalan
word: retrògrad
lang: Bulgarian
word: отстъпване
roman: otstǎpvane
lang: Bulgarian
word: отстъп
roman: otstǎp