Meaning

(intransitive) To fall back again; to slide or turn back into a former state or practice..

Definitions by Sense

1. (intransitive) To fall back again; to slide or turn back into a former state or practice.
2. (intransitive, medicine, of a disease) To recur; to worsen, be aggravated (after a period of improvement).
3. (intransitive, informal, specifically) To return to a vice, especially self-harm or alcoholism, failing to maintain abstinence.
4. To slip or slide back physically; to turn back.
5. The act or situation of relapsing.
6. (medicine) An occasion when a person becomes ill again after a period of improvement
7. (obsolete) One who has relapsed, or fallen back into error; a backslider.

Example Sentences

He has improved recently but keeps relapsing into states of utter confusion.

to relapse into a stupor, into vice, or into barbarism

to relapse into slumber after being disturbed

Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.

relapsed after 5 months of being clean

You slip your hold and change your side, Relapsing from a necessary guide.

a drug relapse

Alas! from what high hope to what relapse / Unlooked for are we fallen!

Word Forms

• relapses
• relapsing
• relapsed

Synonyms for relapse

Antonyms for relapse

Related Words

When Should You Use Relapse?

Use relapse when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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