tapered

American  

[tey-perd] / ˈteɪ pərd /

adjective

1. becoming gradually thinner, narrower, or smaller toward one end.

   The tapered table leg has long been a classic design.

   The wine’s bouquet hit our nostrils the moment we opened the elegantly tapered bottle.

2. reduced gradually over time.

   Once the allergic reaction had been alleviated, the patient was discharged with a tapered steroid dose and scheduled for outpatient follow-up.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of taper.

Other Word Forms

• untapered adjective

Etymology

Origin of tapered

First recorded in 1620–30; taper ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses; taper ¹ ( def. ) + -ed ¹ ( def. ) for the verb sense

Example Sentences

But in several places, the waves swirled and tapered into pinecone-sized whirlpools.

From Literature

The destination weddings have tapered off since Covid, but the hotel is seeing a spate of destination proposals and destination vow renewals.

From The Wall Street Journal

The truth of this Dodgers season was recently found in a place where all sports truths are clipped and tapered and styled into reality.

From Los Angeles Times

For now, though, the prospect of diplomatic negotiations appears to have tapered off the threat of an imminent military spat between the two countries.

From Barron's

These claims had risen steadily for several years and almost reached a post-pandemic high of 2 million last fall, but they have since tapered off.

From MarketWatch

Related Words

• cramped
• definite
• limited
• precarious
• precise
• slender
• slim
• small
• thin
• tight