retrogress
verb
ret·ro·gress ˌre-trə-ˈgres 
retrogressed; retrogressing; retrogresses
intransitive verb
: to move backward : revert
Did you know?
As you might guess, retrogress is the opposite of progress. Retrogression is usually an undesirable decline from a higher or advanced level. So, for instance, in difficult social situations an adolescent can retrogress to a childish level of maturity. And under the extreme conditions of total war, a whole society may retrogress to a primitive state. The increasing number of poor or homeless people has been seen as evidence of modern social retrogression, and the rise of loud, name-calling TV and radio personalities strikes many people as a sign of political retrogression.
Synonyms
- regress
- return
- revert
See all Synonyms & Antonyms 
Example Sentences
the quality of research at the university lab has begun to retrogress since the massive budget cuts went into effect
Recent Examples on the Web After the 1960s, after the switch in—the shift in the strategy to gaining political clout, a lot of those trends stalled, slowed, even retrogressed. 
WSJ, 3 July 2017
WSJ, 3 July 2017 Word History
Etymology
Latin retrogressus, past participle of retrogradi
First Known Use
1812, in the meaning defined above
retrogresses
verb
as in returns
to go back to a previous and usually lower state or level the quality of research at the university lab has begun to retrogress since the massive budget cuts went into effect Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- returns
- reverts
- declines
- regresses
- throws back
- lapses
- relapses
- degenerates
- falls
- ebbs
- backslides
- drops
- retrogrades
- worsens
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- advances
- progresses
- develops
- grows
- evolves
- matures
- ripens