noun
Meaning 1
A rolling down.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
devolution
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
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UK: /diːvəˈluːʃən/
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Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
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rhymes with -uːʃən
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CMU ARPABET: D EH2 V AH0 L UW1 SH AH0 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
noun
Meaning 2
A descent, especially one that passes through a series of revolutions, or by succession.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
The transference of a right to a successor, or of a power from one body to another.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
Degeneration.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory
Examples
- It is quite disheartening to witness the devolution of our nation's political discourse over the past several years.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: degradation
Antonyms: evolution, development
noun
Meaning 5
The transfer of some powers and the delegation of some functions from a central government to local government (e.g. from the U.K. parliament to Scottish parliament and Welsh assembly).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Topics: government
Examples
- The question of whether England should receive devolution like Scotland and Wales have has dogged British politics for years.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
the delegation of authority (especially from a central to a regional government)
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: devolvement
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: delegating, delegation, relegating, relegation, deputation
noun
Meaning 7
the process of declining from a higher to a lower level of effective power or vitality or essential quality
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: degeneration
Antonyms: evolution
Broader terms: process, physical process
Narrower terms: attack, obsolescence, macular degeneration
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French dévolution, from Medieval Latin devolutio, devolutionis, from Latin devolvo.
Across languages
Translations
16 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Dutch: neergang — a rolling down
- French: dévolution — a rolling down
- Russian: ска́тывание (skátyvanije) — a rolling down
- Russian: деволю́ция (devoljúcija) — a descent
- Bokmål: nedgang — a degeneration
- Indonesian: devolusi — a degeneration
- Spanish: desevolución — a degeneration
- Georgian: დევოლუცია (devolucia) — a transfer of power
- Georgian: დეცენტრალიზაცია (decenṭralizacia) — a transfer of power
- Georgian: ძალაუფლების გადაცემა ქვეეროვნული ერთეულებისთვის (ʒalauplebis gadacema kveerovnuli erteulebistvis) — a transfer of power
- German: Dezentralisierung — a transfer of power
- German: Machtübertragung auf Landesteile — a transfer of power
- Norwegian Bokmål: overgang — a transfer of power
- Norwegian Bokmål: hjemfall — a transfer of power
- Norwegian Bokmål: overføring — a transfer of power
- Polish: dewolucja — a transfer of power
Real reading context