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retrograde

ret·rog·rade

UK/ˈɹɛtɹə(ʊ)ɡɹeɪd/ US/ˈɹɛtɹəˌɡɹeɪd/ uncommon archaic obsolete
adjective (4) verb (5)

adjective

1.

moving from east to west on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in a direction opposite to that of the Earth

Antonyms
2.
3.

going from better to worse

Synonyms
Similar
4.

moving or directed or tending in a backward direction or contrary to a previous direction

Synonyms
Similar

verb

1.

move backward in an orbit, of celestial bodies

2.

move in a direction contrary to the usual one

  • “retrograding planets”
3.

move back

  • “The glacier retrogrades”
Synonyms
4.

go back over

  • “retrograde arguments”
Synonyms
5.

get worse; fall back to a previous or worse condition

Synonyms
Antonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
  • Mercury retrograde problem
  • retrograde amnesia
  • retrograde ejaculation
  • retrograde inversion
  • retrograde motion
  • retrograde neurotransmitter
  • retrograde perfusion

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.