Devolve
[dɪ'vɒlv] or [dɪ'vɑlv]
Definition
(verb.) grow worse; 'Her condition deteriorated'; 'Conditions in the slums degenerated'; 'The discussion devolved into a shouting match'.
(verb.) pass on or delegate to another; 'The representative devolved his duties to his aides while he was in the hospital'.
Typist: Norton--From WordNet
Definition
(v. t.) To roll onward or downward; to pass on.
(v. t.) To transfer from one person to another; to deliver over; to hand down; -- generally with upon, sometimes with to or into.
(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.
Inputed by Katrina
Synonyms and Synonymous
v. a. Alienate, transfer, demise, consign, convey, deliver over, make over.
v. n. Fall (by succession or by inheritance), pass, be transferred, be handed over.
Typed by Lesley
Definition
v.t. to roll down: to hand down: to deliver over.—v.i. to roll down: to fall or pass over.—n. Devolve′ment.
Typist: Nadine
Examples
- Even the necessary arrangements for the funeral seemed to devolve upon her. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell. North and South.
- The night-watching devolved entirely on me; but whoever else might have watched poor Fanny I would never have quitted her. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
- It devolved on me to disclose our plan to Idris. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- Henceforth, on Rosine, the portress, devolved that duty. Charlotte Bronte. Villette.
- Another task also devolved upon me, when I became the instructor of my brothers. Mary Shelley. Frankenstein_Or_The Modern Prometheus.
- Dunbar, when the command devolved on him, was not so generous. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- It then devolved upon Buckner, who accepted the responsibility of the position. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
- Upon Hor Vastus devolved the delicate mission of organising a secret force of fighting-men sworn to follow John Carter wherever he might lead. Edgar Rice Burroughs. The Gods of Mars.
- It is not a subject on which I would willingly dwell, and yet I am conscious that a duty devolves upon me to omit no detail. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- With this high honor, devolves upon you, also, a corresponding responsibility. Ulysses S. Grant. Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant.
Checker: Raffles