retrograde
ret·ro·grade / ˈretrəˌgrād/ • adj. directed or moving backward: a retrograde flow. ∎ reverting to an earlier and inferior condition: to go back on the progress that has been made would be a retrograde step. ∎ (of the order of something) reversed; inverse: the retrograde form of these inscriptions. ∎ (of amnesia) involving the period immediately preceding the causal event. ∎ Geol. (of a metamorphic change) resulting from a decrease in temperature or pressure. ∎ Astron. & Astrol. (of the apparent motion of a planet) in a reverse direction from normal (from east to west), resulting from the relative orbital progress of the earth and the planet. The opposite of prograde. ∎ Astron. (of the orbit or rotation of a planet or planetary satellite) in a reverse direction from that normal in the solar system.• n. rare a degenerate person.• v. [intr.] 1. archaic go back in position or time: our history must retrograde for the space of a few pages. ∎ revert to an earlier and usually inferior condition: people cannot habitually trample on law and justice without retrograding toward barbarism.2. Astron. show retrogradation: all the planets will at some time appear to retrograde.DERIVATIVES: ret·ro·grade·ly adv. ( rare ).