relapse

[ verb ri-laps; noun ri-laps, ree-laps ]
/ verb rɪˈlæps; noun rɪˈlæps, ˈri læps /

verb (used without object), re·lapsed, re·laps·ing.

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.

noun

an act or instance of relapsing.
a return of a disease or illness after partial recovery from it.

Origin of relapse

1400–50; (v.) late Middle English < Latin relāpsus, past participle of relābī to slide back, revert ( re- re- + lāb- v. stem + -sus for -tus past participle suffix); (noun) late Middle English < Medieval Latin relāpsus, equivalent to Latin relāb(ī) + -sus for -tus suffix of v. action

OTHER WORDS FROM relapse

re·laps·a·ble, adjective re·laps·er, noun un·re·laps·ing, adjective

Example sentences from the Web for relapse

British Dictionary definitions for relapse

relapse

verb (rɪˈlæps) (intr)

to lapse back into a former state or condition, esp one involving bad habits
to become ill again after apparent recovery

noun (rɪˈlæps, ˈriːˌlæps)

the act or an instance of relapsing
the return of ill health after an apparent or partial recovery

Derived forms of relapse

relapser, noun

Word Origin for relapse

C16: from Latin relabī to slip back, from re- + labī to slip, slide

Medical definitions for relapse

relapse
[ rĭ-lăps ]

v.

To regress after partial recovery from illness.
To slip back into bad ways; backslide.
To fall or slide back into a former state.

n.

A falling back into a former state, especially the return of symptoms following an apparent recovery. recurrence