'Devolve' definitions:
Definition of 'devolve'
From: WordNet
verb
Pass on or delegate to another; "The representative devolved his duties to his aides while he was in the hospital"
verb
Be inherited by; "The estate fell to my sister"; "The land returned to the family"; "The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead" [syn: fall, return, pass, devolve]
verb
Grow worse; "Her condition deteriorated"; "Conditions in the slums degenerated"; "The discussion devolved into a shouting match" [syn: devolve, deteriorate, drop, degenerate] [ant: convalesce, recover, recuperate]
Definition of 'Devolve'
From: GCIDE
- Devolve \De*volve"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Devolved; p. pr. & vb. n. Devolving.] [L. devolvere, devolutum, to roll down; de + volvere to roll down; de + volvere to roll. See Voluble.]
- 1. To roll onward or downward; to pass on. [1913 Webster]
- Every headlong stream Devolves its winding waters to the main. --Akenside. [1913 Webster]
- Devolved his rounded periods. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To transfer from one person to another; to deliver over; to hand down; -- generally with upon, sometimes with to or into. [1913 Webster]
- They devolved a considerable share of their power upon their favorite. --Burke. [1913 Webster]
- They devolved their whole authority into the hands of the council of sixty. --Addison. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Devolve'
From: GCIDE
- Devolve \De*volve"\, v. i. To pass by transmission or succession; to be handed over or down; -- generally with on or upon, sometimes with to or into; as, after the general fell, the command devolved upon (or on) the next officer in rank. [1913 Webster]
- His estate . . . devolved to Lord Somerville. --Johnson. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'devolve'
From: Moby Thesaurus