retrogressive
Americanadjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of retrogressive
1795–1805; < Latin retrōgress ( us ) ( see retrogress) + -ive
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
What could be crazier and more retrogressive was the lavish 1961 movie adaptation of “West Side Story,” which has now been lavishly remade by Steven Spielberg and opens in theaters today.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2021
“When our dictionary infuses a pastime that promises joy with toxic language instead, it is retrogressive and powerfully divisive.”
From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2021
And no doubt the Oscars will give retrogressive awards again—maybe as soon as next year, if they give Best Picture to Hillbilly Elegy over, say, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2020
They seem to have souls—that ultimate retrogressive term!—though by “soul” we need imply nothing more metaphysical here than the sum total of one person’s affect in the mind of another.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 12, 2017
Many of the differences that separate man from anthropoids of the Sivapithecus type are retrogressive changes, following the profound change in food habits above noted.
From Man, Past and Present by Alfred Court Haddon
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