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re⋅lapse

  [v. ri-laps; n. ri-laps, ree-laps] verb, -lapsed, -laps⋅ing, noun
Use relapse in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to fall or slip back into a former state, practice, etc.: to relapse into silence.
2. to fall back into illness after convalescence or apparent recovery.
3. to fall back into vice, wrongdoing, or error; backslide: to relapse into heresy.
–noun
4. an act or instance of relapsing.
5. a return of a disease or illness after partial recovery from it.
Origin:
1400–50; (v.) late ME < L relāpsus, ptp. of relābī to slide back, revert (re- re- + lāb- v. stem + -sus for -tus ptp. suffix); (n.) late ME < ML relāpsus, equiv. to L relāb(ī) + -sus for -tus suffix of v. action

Related forms:
re⋅laps⋅a⋅ble, adjective
re⋅laps⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
3. regress, revert, lapse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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re·lapse   (rĭ-lāps')   
intr.v.   re·lapsed, re·laps·ing, re·laps·es

  1. To fall or slide back into a former state.

  2. To regress after partial recovery from illness.

  3. To slip back into bad ways; backslide.

n.   (rē'lāps, rĭ-lāps')
A falling back into a former state, especially after apparent improvement.

[Middle English relapsen, to forswear, from Latin relābī, relāps-, to fall back gradually : re-, re- + lābī, to slide.]
re·laps'er 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

relapse  (v.)
1568, from L. relapsus, pp. of relabi "slip back," from re- "back" + labi "to slip" (see lapse). The noun is first attested 1533.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: 1re·lapse
Pronunciation: ri-'laps, 'rE-"
Function: noun
: a recurrence of illness; especially : a recurrence ofsymptoms of a disease after a period of improvement relapses after five years have occurred—J. E. Bishop> —compare RECRUDESCENCE

Main Entry: 2re·lapse
Pronunciation: ri-'laps
Function: intransitive verb
Inflected Forms: re·lapsed;re·laps·ing
: to slip or fall back into a former worse state (as of illness) after a change for the better relapsed when allowed out of bed>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

relapse re·lapse (rĭ-lāps')
v. re·lapsed, re·laps·ing, re·laps·es

  1. To regress after partial recovery from illness.

  2. To slip back into bad ways; backslide.

  3. To fall or slide back into a former state.

n. (rē'lāps, rĭ-lāps')
A falling back into a former state, especially the return of symptoms following an apparent recovery. Also called recurrence.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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