relapse
to fall or slip back into a former state, practice, etc.: to relapse into silence.
to fall back into illness after convalescence or apparent recovery.
to fall back into vice, wrongdoing, or error; backslide: to relapse into heresy.
an act or instance of relapsing.
a return of a disease or illness after partial recovery from it.
Origin of relapse
1Other words for relapse
Other words from relapse
- re·laps·a·ble, adjective
- re·laps·er, noun
- un·re·laps·ing, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use relapse in a sentence
He had checked himself into an East Coast rehab facility in May for 10 days, but relapsed again in recent days.
Philip Seymour Hoffman and the Mourner’s Playground | Michael Daly | February 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTHoffman had used drugs in his early twenties, but had been sober for more than two decades before he relapsed last year.
Philip Seymour Hoffman and the Mourner’s Playground | Michael Daly | February 4, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShe allegedly quit taking drugs at this time, but relapsed in 2010 and continued drinking heavily.
Lindsay Lohan Comes Clean to Oprah & More Addiction Tell-Alls (Video) | Natasha Bach, Samantha Guff | August 18, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTThe young men relapsed into silence, for at that moment another fierce gust of wind threw the ship over almost on her beam-ends.
The Floating Light of the Goodwin Sands | R.M. BallantyneHere the waiter once more relapsed into his best French manner and made a flourishing little bow.
A Butterfly on the Wheel | Cyril Arthur Edward Ranger Gull
"He's an impudent thing," and again she relapsed into silence, just when he thought his pleasure was going to be complete.
The Underworld | James C. WelshHe relapsed into uncommon sheepishness, and hardly knew how to address his mother, who sat sobbing in her armchair.
Julian Home | Dean Frederic W. FarrarThen, regretting the betrayal of his feelings, the young man relapsed into gloomy silence.
The Seven Cardinal Sins: Envy and Indolence | Eugne Sue
British Dictionary definitions for relapse
to lapse back into a former state or condition, esp one involving bad habits
to become ill again after apparent recovery
the act or an instance of relapsing
the return of ill health after an apparent or partial recovery
Origin of relapse
1Derived forms of relapse
- relapser, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse