devolve
Verb
Verb Forms: devolved, devolving, devolves
- To pass responsibility or power from one to another.
- pass on or delegate to another
- "The representative devolved his duties to his aides while he was in the hospital"
- be inherited by
- "The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead"
- grow worse
- "The discussion devolved into a shouting match"
- 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.
- To delegate (a responsibility, duty, etc.) on or upon someone.
- To delegate (a responsibility, duty, etc.) on or upon someone.
- To transfer authority and responsibility for (something) to (another entity).
- To fall as a duty or responsibility on or upon someone.
- To fall as a duty or responsibility on or upon someone.
- To shift or to be transferred from a central government to a local one, a federal one to a federated one, etc.
- To degenerate; to break down.
- To roll (something) down; to unroll.
Examples
- A discussion about politics may devolve into a shouting match.
- Despite being a unitary state, the Government of the United Kingdom devolved many matters to the Governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Many legislative powers devolved to the new Scottish parliament in 1999.
- The pressure of finding a seven-letter word can devolve into desperation, leading to rash decisions.
Origin / Etymology
Borrowed from Latin dēvolvō (“roll or tumble off or down”), from dē + volvō (“roll”).
Synonyms
degenerate, deteriorate, drop, fall, pass, return, pass down, roll down
Antonyms
Scrabble Score: 14
devolve: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Worddevolve: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
devolve: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary