deceleration

[ dee-sel-uh-rey-shuhn ]

noun

1. the fact of losing speed, or the act of reducing the speed of something:

   Prolonged deceleration of the fetal heart rate is cause for concern.

2. the act or process of slowing the rate of increase of something:

   During that quarter, job creation stalled and stocks fell, confirming that there was a deceleration in the economy.

Other Words From

• non·de·cel·er·a·tion noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of deceleration¹

deceler(ate) ( def ) + -ation ( def )

Example Sentences

The decelerating subscriber losses suggests that the cord-cutting trend may be beginning to bottom out.

From Digiday

The decelerating gains were the lowest payroll numbers ADP has reported since the summer.

From Washington Post

Stay-at-home orders decelerated that rise in late March, but only briefly.

From Quartz

As the men decelerated, Rupp, less than half a second behind Farah, screamed “Moooo!”

From Fortune

At that point, the virus will still spread, but at a decelerating rate until it stops completely.

From Quanta Magazine

Allowing for deceleration, three successive predictions of its landing point agreed.

From Project Gutenberg

It would add to the plausibility of reported deceleration, though, and would arouse acute suspicion.

From Project Gutenberg

The deceleration pressed them so tightly to the nose of the ship that they could hardly breathe.

From Project Gutenberg

Anyway, after Lynds completed six orbital revolutions, they began the deceleration and descent.

From Project Gutenberg

Spin deceleration will take effect in three minutes; and we are counting on my mark towards deceleration.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• decline
• delay
• downtrend
• downturn
• drop
• drop-off
• falloff
• slackening
• stagnation
• strike

More About Deceleration

What does deceleration mean?

Deceleration describes a decrease in velocity, that is, momentum.

Deceleration describes the slowing of an increase. Wind, for example, moves with a certain amount of momentum. When the wind’s momentum slows down, that is, the wind doesn’t blow as hard, we can say that the wind is experiencing deceleration.

Example: The deceleration of the ship came abruptly to the passengers.

Where does deceleration come from?

The first records of the term deceleration come from around 1897. It combines the verb decelerate, meaning “to slow the rate of increase” with the suffix –ation, which forms nouns from verbs that end in –ate, such as separation. Deceleration is the action of slowing the rate of an increase.

Deceleration is often used in reference to the velocity of a vehicle or person. Sometimes it can be used to describe slowing the rate of something, such as a statistic or percentage.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to deceleration?

• nondeceleration (noun)

What are some synonyms for deceleration?

• slowing
• decline
• delay
• downtrend
• drop
• falloff

What are some words that share a root or word element with deceleration?

• decelerate
• accelerate
• acceleration

What are some words that often get used in discussing deceleration?

• rate
• slow
• speed
• vehicle
• velocity

How is deceleration used in real life?

Deceleration is usually used in an engineering or other scientific setting.

Yeah, this was a three engine landing burn, so triple deceleration of last flight. That's important to minimize gravity losses.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 6, 2016

It is impossible to fully prevent ACL tears, but many studies have shown that with proper training and conditioning, non-contact ACL tears can be significantly reduced. Teach proper jumping/landing techniques, proper deceleration, agility & strengthening each leg individually.

— Tim DiFrancesco (@tdathletesedge) December 29, 2017

100m final at average mid 9.7s, perfect race with minimum deceleration 9.68

— IamTrayvonBromell (@TrayvonBromell) September 28, 2019

 

 

Try using deceleration!

Which of the following is NOT a synonym for deceleration?

A. slowing
B. dropoff
C. acceleration
D. decline