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
The longer someone stays well, the lower their chance of relapsing, although that possibility never becomes zero.
Had anyone known that he was relapsing to begin with, he might not have needed to be.
At this point, the thought of relapsing on wet sends shivers down his spine.
Relapsing on heroin after having dropped out of methadone maintenance had severe consequences for both of them.
The spirillum of relapsing fever can be identified by the method for the malarial parasite in fresh blood.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
Ay, murmured the sick woman, relapsing into her former drowsy state, what about her?what aboutI know!
Oliver Twist, Vol. II (of 3) | Charles DickensOne thing had saved him from relapsing into the nervous dreamer, and the weaver of bright but aimless fancies.
The New Tenant | E. Phillips OppenheimPierre, who was relapsing into nervous irritation, wanted to know what Marowsko meant by this phrase.
The Works of Guy de Maupassant, Volume VIII. | Guy de Maupassant"I'd rather not—the house may be full of Indians," replied Joe, relapsing into his natural cowardice.
Wild Western Scenes | John Beauchamp Jones
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
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