devolve vs designate

devolve is not an adjective while designate is an adjective.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
devolve	No	No	Yes	No
designate	No	Yes	Yes	No

As verbs, designate is a hypernym of devolve; that is, designate is a word with a broader meaning than devolve:

devolve: pass on or delegate to another
designate: give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person)

Other hypernyms of devolve include assign, delegate, depute.

devolve (adjective)	designate (adjective)
	appointed but not yet installed in office

devolve (verb)	designate (verb)
grow progressively worse	design or destine
be inherited by	assign a name or title to
pass on or delegate to another	decree or designate beforehand
	indicate a place, direction, person, or thing; either spatially or figuratively
	give an assignment to (a person) to a post, or assign a task to (a person)