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Definitions

ebb

[eb] / ɛb /
NOUN
regression; decline
Synonyms
STRONG
abatement backflow decay decrease degeneration depreciation deterioration diminution drop dwindling flagging lessening recession reflux retreat shrinkage sinking slackening subsidence sweep wane waning weakening withdrawal
WEAK
fading away going out low tide low water outward flow petering out refluence retrocession retroflux
Antonyms
STRONG
advance development enlargement expansion growth improvement increase
WEAK
flow incline rise
VERB
subside; decline
Synonyms
STRONGEST
abate degenerate deteriorate die down die out diminish dwindle ease off fall away fall back lessen melt peter out recede shrink slacken wane weaken
STRONG
decay decrease drop fall flag languish moderate relent retire retreat sink withdraw
WEAK
fade away flow back go out let up retrocede
Antonyms
STRONGEST
develop enlarge expand extend forge forward grow improve increase prolong raise rise strengthen
STRONG
advance ascend build flourish
WEAK
flow

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.

“When someone asks me about Liza,” the lyricist Fred Ebb once said, “I say that’s like asking a kid about Christmas.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

“It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform that Douglas McCarthy passed away this morning of June 11th, 2025,” Nitzer Ebb wrote.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025

While Nitzer Ebb toured regularly into the present day, McCarthy faced health issues late in life, dropping off a 2024 European tour citing liver cirrhosis.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2025

Others arise from Frecknall’s staging itself, which is spectacular when in additive mode, illuminating the classic score by John Kander and Fred Ebb, and the amazingly sturdy book by Joe Masteroff.

From New York Times • Apr. 21, 2024

So it was to Scaithe's Ebb that Lord Primus of Stormhold came one night, all dressed in black with a beard as thick and serious as one of the storks' nests in the town's chimneys.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

Vocabulary lists containing ebb

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