WordWeb Online

1. Pass on or delegate to another
   "The representative devolved his duties to his aides while he was in the hospital"
    
2. Be inherited by
   "The estate devolved to an heir that everybody had assumed to be dead"
   - fall, return, pass
    
3. Grow worse
   "The discussion devolved into a shouting match"
   - deteriorate, drop, degenerate

Derived forms: devolved, devolving, devolves

See also: devolvement

Type of: assign, change hands, change owners, decline, delegate, depute, designate, worsen

Encyclopedia: Devolve