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regress

 - 4 dictionary results

re⋅gress

  [v. ri-gres; n. ree-gres]
Use regress in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to move backward; go back.
2. to revert to an earlier or less advanced state or form.
–noun
3. the act of going back; return.
4. the right to go back.
5. backward movement or course; retrogression.
Origin:
1325–75; ME regresse (n.) < L regressus a returning, going back, equiv. to re- re- + -gred-, comb. form of gradī to step, walk, go + -tus suffix of v. action, with dt > ss

Related forms:
re⋅gres⋅sor, noun

Synonyms:
1. revert, retreat, backslide, lapse, ebb.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To regress
re·gress   (rĭ-grěs')   
v.   re·gressed, re·gress·ing, re·gress·es

v.   intr.

  1. To go back; move backward.

  2. To return to a previous, usually worse or less developed state.

  3. To have a tendency to approach or go back to a statistical mean.

v.   tr. Psychology
To induce a state of regression in.
n.   (rē'grěs')

    1. The act of going or coming back; return.

    2. Passage back; reentry.

  2. The act of reasoning backward from an effect to a cause.


[Latin regredī, regress- : re-, re- + gradī, to go; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots.]
re·gres'sor n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

regress 
c.1375 (n.), "act of going back," from L. regressus "a return," from regress-, pp. stem of regredi "to go back," from re- "back" + gradi "to step, walk" (see grade). The verb meaning "to move backward" is recorded from 1823; the psychological sense of "to return to an earlier stage of life" is attested from 1926. Regressive is recorded from 1634; in ref. to taxation, it is attested from 1889.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: re·gress
Pronunciation: ri-'gres
Function: intransitive verb
: to undergo or exhibit regression regressing lesion>regressed to an infantile behavior pattern> regress transitive senses
: to induce a state of psychological regression in <regress ahypnotized subject>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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