devolution
the act or fact of devolving; passage onward from stage to stage.
the passing on to a successor of an unexercised right.
Law. the passing of property from one to another, as by hereditary succession.
Biology. degeneration.
the transfer of power or authority from a central government to a local government.
Origin of devolution
1Other words from devolution
- dev·o·lu·tion·ar·y, adjective, noun
- dev·o·lu·tion·ist, noun
Words Nearby devolution
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use devolution in a sentence
In addition to all kinds of juicy details, Tom provides a schema for how to understand the city’s evolution, or devolution, depending on your point of view.
How Does New York City Keep Reinventing Itself? (Bonus) | Kurt Andersen | March 21, 2021 | FreakonomicsThe date never comes to pass, and it will take most of the six-episode series to trace her long devolution into the battered, traumatized creature who wakes up in jail less than a year later.
In Starz's Enchanting The Luminaries, Fate and Free Will Battle Amid New Zealand's Gold Rush | Judy Berman | February 12, 2021 | TimeCameron said no, reasoning that Scotland was likely to opt for greater devolution but would stop short of total independence.
Anarchy for the U.K.? British Leaders Panicking Over Scottish Vote for Independence | Nico Hines | September 10, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTKristol et al may long for such a devolution, but polls suggest that the majority of Americans do not.
Tom Cotton’s Run for Senate in Arkansas Makes Him the New Neocon Darling | Michelle Cottle | August 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTIt is an old native element recast in Roman form, and well illustrates the Roman principle of local government by devolution.
This argument for the obligation of the Consuming Class is based upon the devolution of duties.
Consumers and Wage-Earners | J. Elliot RossIt was thus that the first of his wars for the extension of frontiers began, the War of devolution.
The principle of local devolution is carried somewhat further in Madras than in other provinces.
It is only when a partition takes place that the devolution of the shares by inheritance has to be traced.
British Dictionary definitions for devolution
/ (ˌdiːvəˈluːʃən) /
the act, fact, or result of devolving
a passing onwards or downwards from one stage to another
another word for degeneration (def. 3)
a transfer or allocation of authority, esp from a central government to regional governments or particular interests
Origin of devolution
1Derived forms of devolution
- devolutionary, adjective
- devolutionist, noun, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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