tapering off
Slowly winding down
Tapering off means gradually reducing or diminishing, especially when stopping something that shouldn't be quit abruptly.
The phrase often applies to medications, addictive substances, or intense activities: The doctor advised tapering off the steroids over two weeks, She's tapering off her training after the marathon.
It implies a deliberate, controlled decrease rather than a sudden stop.
- fadingGradual loss of intensity
- dying downDecreasing in force
- diminishingBecoming progressively less
- waningGradually decreasing in intensity
- petering outGradually diminishing to nothing
dwindling · easing · easing up · subsiding · trailing · trailing off · declining · gradual · slowing down · slow · weaning · withdrawal · reducing · lessening · ebbing · narrowing · thinning · sloping
tapering offramping up
Progressively increasing in scale
building up · escalating · intensifying · increasing · accelerating
tapering offslamming on the brakes
Applying maximum stopping force suddenly
pulling the plug · breaking off · cutting short · grinding to a halt
tapering offmaintaining
Keeping in condition
sustaining · keeping up · persisting · carrying on · plateauing