ret·ro·grade (r t r -gr d )adj. 1. Moving or tending backward. 2. Opposite to the usual order; inverted or reversed. 3. Reverting to an earlier or inferior condition. 4. Astronomy a. Of or relating to the orbital revolution or axial rotation of a planetary or other celestial body that moves clockwise from east to west, in the direction opposite to most celestial bodies. b. Of or relating to the brief, regularly occurring, apparently backward movement of a planetary body in its orbit as viewed against the fixed stars, caused by the differing orbital velocities of Earth and the body observed. 5. Archaic Opposed; contrary. intr.v. ret·ro·grad·ed, ret·ro·grad·ing, ret·ro·grades 1. To move or seem to move backward. See Synonyms at recede1. 2. To decline to an inferior state; degenerate. [Middle English, from Latin retr  gradus, from retrgrad , to go back : retr-, retro- + -gradus, walking (from grad, to go; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots).]ret ro·gra·dation (-r-gr-dshn) n.ret ro·gradely adv. |
retrograde [ˈrɛtrəʊˌgreɪd]
adj
1. moving or bending backwards
2. (esp of order) reverse or inverse
3. tending towards an earlier worse condition; declining or deteriorating
4. (Astronomy) Astronomy
a. occurring or orbiting in a direction opposite to that of the earth's motion around the sun Compare direct [18]
b. occurring or orbiting in a direction around a planet opposite to the planet's rotational direction the retrograde motion of the satellite Phoebe around Saturn
c. appearing to move in a clockwise direction due to the rotational period exceeding the period of revolution around the sun Venus has retrograde rotation
5. (Life Sciences & Allied Applications / Biology) Biology tending to retrogress; degenerate
6. (Music, other) Music of, concerning, or denoting a melody or part that is played backwards
7. Obsolete opposed, contrary, or repugnant to
vb (intr)
1. to move in a retrograde direction; retrogress
2. (Military) US Military another word for retreat [1]
[from Latin retrōgradī to go backwards, from gradi to walk, go]
retrogradation n
retrogradely adv
| retrograde (rtr-grd) 1. Having a rotational or orbital movement that is opposite to the movement of most bodies within a celestial system. In the solar system, retrograde bodies are those that rotate or orbit in a clockwise direction (east to west) when viewed from a vantage point above the Earth's north pole. Venus, Uranus, and Pluto have retrograde rotational movements. No planets in the solar system have retrograde orbital movements, but four of Jupiter's moons exhibit such movement. 2. Having a brief, regularly occurring, apparently backward movement in the sky as viewed from Earth against the background of fixed stars. Retrograde movement of the planets is caused by the differing orbital velocities of Earth and the body observed. For example, the outer planets normally appear to drift gradually eastward in the sky in relation to the fixed stars; that is, they appear night after night to fall a little farther behind the neighboring stars in their westward passage across the sky. However, at certain times a particular planet appears briefly to speed up and move westward a bit more quickly than the neighboring stars. This happens as Earth, in its faster inner orbit, overtakes and passes the planet in its slower outer orbit; the appearance of moving counter to its usual eastward drift is thus simply the result of perspective as seen from Earth. Compare prograde. |
ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
| Verb | 1. | retrograde - move backward in an orbit, of celestial bodies |
| 2. | retrograde - move in a direction contrary to the usual one; "retrograding planets" go, locomote, move, travel - change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically; "How fast does your new car go?"; "We travelled from Rome to Naples by bus"; "The policemen went from door to door looking for the suspect"; "The soldiers moved towards the city in an attempt to take it before night fell"; "news travelled fast" | |
| 3. | retrograde - move back; "The glacier retrogrades" | |
| 4. | retrograde - go back over; "retrograde arguments" recap, recapitulate - summarize briefly; "Let's recapitulate the main ideas" | |
| 5. | retrograde - get worse or fall back to a previous condition | |
| Adj. | 1. | retrograde - moving from east to west on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in a direction opposite to that of the Earth astronomy, uranology - the branch of physics that studies celestial bodies and the universe as a whole direct - moving from west to east on the celestial sphere; or--for planets--around the sun in the same direction as the Earth |
| 2. | retrograde - of amnesia; affecting time immediately preceding trauma anterograde - of amnesia; affecting time immediately following trauma | |
| 3. | retrograde - going from better to worse regressive - opposing progress; returning to a former less advanced state | |
| 4. | retrograde - moving or directed or tending in a backward direction or contrary to a previous direction backward - directed or facing toward the back or rear; "a backward view" |
retrograde
adjective deteriorating, backward, regressive, retrogressive, declining, negative, reverse, retreating, worsening, downward, waning, relapsing, inverse, degenerative It would be a retrograde step to revert to the old system.
Translations
retrograde
adj → rückläufig; order → umgekehrt; policy → rückschrittlich; (Phys, Biol, Astron) → rückläufig, retrograd (spec); retrograde step → Rückschritt m
vi (Biol) → sich zurückentwickeln; (Astron) → sich retrograd bewegen
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