⬇️ To get worse 🔄 To transfer duties

to devolve

5 6.6

To give duties or power to others

verb
/dɪˈvɑlv/

Formal

: recaer en

Effective political authority will devolve to regions, cities, and even neighborhoods.
devolved power
devolve responsibility
devolve authority

There's this, I guess, devolving of your responsibility as a parent.

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Examples

Coupled with this are efforts to devolve responsibility to the front line, encouraging responsiveness to local needs.

Academic text (2007)
When the captain did not, that responsibility devolved upon the lieutenant.

Fiction book (1998)
Of course, to devolve responsibility effectively, there must be clear accountability down the line.

Academic text (1998)
No power has yet been devolved to any unit of local government.

Academic text (1999)
A second approach is to devolve power to committees of the relevant religious confessions.

Academic text (1996)
Significant duties cannot devolve to private contractors under Buckley any more than they can be performed by Congress.

Academic text (2017)
Responsibility for the management of state forests was devolved to the semi-autonomous provinces under Law No. 5, 1967.

Academic text (1995)
The 1992 forestry law, in contrast, devolved silvicultural management to the marketplace.

Academic text (2003)
The school decided to devolve decision-making power to the parents' council to better address local concerns.
After the merger, the company will devolve some of its responsibilities to the regional offices for more effective management.

Synonyms

to fall

vsto devolve

92 5.8

Come to someone as a duty

transfers duties deliberately to a lower level or another group

to pass

vsto devolve

Specialized

21 6.8

To give property or rights to another person

transfers duties and responsibilities often to a lower level or as inheritance

to deconcentrate

vsto devolve

Formal

1 8.3

To move power and services from a central office to local offices

transfers duties and rights to lower-level people or groups rather than just reducing central control

Antonyms

to maintain

∞ 3.1

Keep an activity, quality, or schedule going over time

to retain

291 3.4

To keep having something such as a job or possession

How Complete

to cede

Formal

35 8.2

transfer

435 3.2

to devolve

Formal

5 6.6

to delegate

46 3.7

to assign

361 2.7

Surface Forms

devolve infinitive

devolved past

devolved past participle

devolving present participle

devolves third person singular

Morphology

devolve = evolve (semi-transparent) = de + volve

The prefix 'de-' suggests a reversal or downward movement, but the specific meaning of transferring duties is not fully transparent.

Etymology

Devolve comes from the Latin parts de- 'down' and volvere 'to roll', and you can see the same root in evolve and revolve; imagine duties 'rolling down' from a manager to junior staff. That's why to devolve tasks is to pass or transfer them to someone else, often at a lower level.