Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Relapse
Re-lapse′
(r?-l?ps′)
, Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Relapsed
(-l?pst′)
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Relapsing
.] [L.
relapsus
, p. p. of relabi
to slip back, to relapse; pref. re-
re- + labi
to fall, slip, slide. See Lapse
.] 1.
To slip or slide back, in a literal sense; to turn back.
[Obs.]
Dryden.
2.
To slide or turn back into a former state or practice; to fall back from some condition attained; – generally in a bad sense, as from a state of convalescence or amended condition;
as, to
; – sometimes in a good sense; relapse
into a stupor, into vice, or into barbarismas, to
. relapse
into slumber after being disturbedThat task performed, [preachers]
relapse
into themselves. Cowper.
3.
(Theol.)
To fall from Christian faith into paganism, heresy, or unbelief; to backslide.
They enter into the justified state, and so continue all along, unless they
relapse
. Waterland.
1.
A sliding or falling back, especially into a former bad state, either of body or morals; backsliding; the state of having fallen back.
Alas! from what high hope to what
Unlooked for are we fallen!
relapse
Unlooked for are we fallen!
Milton.
2.
One who has relapsed, or fallen back, into error; a backslider; specifically, one who, after recanting error, returns to it again.
[Obs.]
Webster 1828 Edition
Relapse
RELAPSE
,Verb.
I.
1.
To slip or slide back; to return.2.
To fall back; to return to a former state or practice; as, to relapse into vice or error after amendment.3.
To fall back or return from recovery or a convalescent state; as, to relapse into a fever.RELAPSE
,Noun.
Definition 2024
relapse
relapse
English
Verb
relapse (third-person singular simple present relapses, present participle relapsing, simple past and past participle relapsed)
- (intransitive) To fall back again; to slide or turn back into a former state or practice.
- 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
- 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.
- 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
-
- (intransitive, medicine, of a disease) To recur; to worsen, be aggravated.
- To slip or slide back physically; to turn back.
- (Can we find and add a quotation of Dryden to this entry?)
Hyponyms
- (to fall back into a former state or practice): fall off the wagon
Translations
To fall back again
|
|
(medicine) To recur; to worsen
Noun
relapse (plural relapses)
- The act or situation of relapsing.
- Alas! from what high hope to what relapse / Unlooked for are we fallen! — Milton.
- (medicine) An occasion when a person becomes ill again after a period of improvement
- (obsolete) One who has relapsed, or fallen back into error; a backslider.
Translations
the act or situation of relapsing