relapse

About 3.03 uses per million words.

Meaning

1. verb To fall back again; to slide or turn back into a former state or practice.

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

2. verb To recur; to worsen, be aggravated (after a period of improvement).
3. verb To return to a vice, especially self-harm or alcoholism, failing to maintain abstinence.

   relapsed after 5 months of being clean

4. verb To slip or slide back physically; to turn back.
5. noun The act or situation of relapsing.

   a drug relapse

6. noun An occasion when a person becomes ill again after a period of improvement
7. noun One who has relapsed, or fallen back into error; a backslider.

Similar words

recidivate retrogress backsliding regress recidivism reversion lapse lapsing fall back get worse

Often followed by

into prevention of and in rate is after rates

Word family

relapsed relapser relapsers relapses relapsing