Definition of "devolve" []

• To pass on or delegate to another: The senator devolved the duties of office upon a group of aides. (verb-transitive)
• Archaic To cause to roll onward or downward. (verb-transitive)
• To be passed on or transferred to another: The burden of proof devolved upon the defendant. The estate devolved to an unlikely heir. (verb-intransitive)
• To degenerate or deteriorate gradually: After several hours the discussion had devolved into a shouting match. (verb-intransitive)
• Archaic To roll onward or downward. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "He didn't use the word devolve'' and he's coming off a heroic performance in Detroit, but that's the deal."
• "Will a new McCarthyism devolve from the current "Tea-Party" movement that exists only to attempt to deny the fact that Barack Obama is in fact a United States Citizen and has legitimately been elected President of all Americans?"
• ""I don't mean to have this call devolve into a 'relationship' call," Davis said, before leading the pack of journalists down precisely that trail -- bringing up (and distorting) Obama's description of Bill Ayers as "just one of my friends in the neighborhood.""