lapse into
phrasal verb
lapsed into; lapsing into; lapses into
1
: to begin using or doing (something that should be avoided) for a short period of time
He's a good writer, but he occasionally lapses into jargon.
2
: to begin to be in (a worse or less active state or condition)
The crowd lapsed into silence.
The patient lapsed into a coma.
The society lapsed into decline.
Examples of lapse into in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But—as the frankly silly breadsticks foreshadowed—the pomp of the place never lapses into tedium.
—
Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2024
Her rock musician husband Max (Tom Payne, Prodigal Son) has an ex-wife who lapsed into addiction and insanity and has been institutionalized after harming one of her children.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
This distinction is what keeps Rawls’s view from lapsing into inhumanity.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 8 Feb. 2024
In the following days his mind lapsed into confusion, yet his secretary faithfully recorded his words.
—Colin Thubron, The New York Review of Books, 19 Jan. 2023
The movie falters here and there, lapsing into sentimentality—with accompanying gushy music—during a wedding scene, and that in-person confrontation between Monk and Sintara happens only because Jefferson has overcomplicated the story’s plot.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 Dec. 2023
Despite a few lapses into lumpy melodrama, Yamazki’s thoughtful script holds firm and is dotted with delightful humor at just the right moments.
—Richard Kuipers, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023
Back on the homefront, Zora lapses into blathering self-absorption and even Billie, the nurse, comments on her need to devote more quality time to her daughter.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023
Ruscha made drawings using gunpowder and paintings of maple syrup and beans, but few image-makers have so rarely lapsed into gimmickry, and even fewer have got such consistent laughs.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2024
Her rock musician husband Max (Tom Payne, Prodigal Son) has an ex-wife who lapsed into addiction and insanity and has been institutionalized after harming one of her children.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Mar. 2024
This distinction is what keeps Rawls’s view from lapsing into inhumanity.
—Elizabeth Barber, Harper's Magazine, 8 Feb. 2024
In the following days his mind lapsed into confusion, yet his secretary faithfully recorded his words.
—Colin Thubron, The New York Review of Books, 19 Jan. 2023
The movie falters here and there, lapsing into sentimentality—with accompanying gushy music—during a wedding scene, and that in-person confrontation between Monk and Sintara happens only because Jefferson has overcomplicated the story’s plot.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 15 Dec. 2023
Despite a few lapses into lumpy melodrama, Yamazki’s thoughtful script holds firm and is dotted with delightful humor at just the right moments.
—Richard Kuipers, Variety, 22 Nov. 2023
Back on the homefront, Zora lapses into blathering self-absorption and even Billie, the nurse, comments on her need to devote more quality time to her daughter.
—Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Sep. 2023
Ruscha made drawings using gunpowder and paintings of maple syrup and beans, but few image-makers have so rarely lapsed into gimmickry, and even fewer have got such consistent laughs.
—Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 2 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'lapse into.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near lapse into
Cite this Entry
“Lapse into.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lapse%20into. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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