as in reversion
the act or an instance of returning to a usually worse state or condition
She discussed some ways to help avoid a relapse after quitting smoking. After a long period of cancer remission, he suffered a relapse.
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in to revert
to return to a usually worse state or condition
After a few good months of keeping their rooms clean, the kids relapsed into their old untidy habits.
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of relapse
Eric J. Nestler, STAT, 28 Apr. 2026
The double blockade actually creates a pretty tenuous situation because every interdiction, every warning shot, every seizure of vessels, could become a trigger for a wider relapse into conflict.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2026
Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
And some of those people inevitably are going to relapse.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relapse
Noun
This is particularly important because meta-analyses of early intervention initiatives across the world have observed significant reductions in relapse rates and psychiatric hospital admissions.
—Eric J. Nestler, STAT, 28 Apr. 2026
The double blockade actually creates a pretty tenuous situation because every interdiction, every warning shot, every seizure of vessels, could become a trigger for a wider relapse into conflict.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2026
Verb
But West has rebounded and relapsed several times since then, including a string of arrests.
—Ryan Brennan, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026
And some of those people inevitably are going to relapse.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 29 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relapse
Noun
-
Meta is lingering around the 150-day moving average, and, having recently fallen below it, this reversion may be a head fake.—
Michael Khouw,
CNBC,
28 Apr. 2026
-
The situation is one of ideological ferment, rather than a reversion to some Romneyite center.—
Amy Davidson Sorkin,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Technically the state could revert back to its original 2022 map with one majority-Black district or redraw a new map entirely.—
Oren Oppenheim,
ABC News,
30 Apr. 2026
-
Heating can temporarily fix this, but the structure tends to revert after cooling.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
When comparing the age breakdown of Congress to the rest of the American workforce, there's a sizable gap.—
Elena Moore,
NPR,
7 May 2026
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Although the practice is still in the theoretical research stage, scientists have spent two decades studying the chemical compounds associated with the breakdown of the human body.—
Richard Winton,
Los Angeles Times,
7 May 2026
Verb
-
Or to some shaky American accents that keep lapsing.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Apr. 2026
-
That means insurance coverage would not lapse even if parents miss a monthly premium payment.—
Daniel Chang,
Miami Herald,
27 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Employers last year created just 9,700 jobs a month, the fewest outside a recession year since 2002.—
Paul Wiseman,
Los Angeles Times,
8 May 2026
-
Over the years, the restaurant survived recessions, 9/11, COVID-19, and a fire that forced the business to close for seven years.—
Jamal Goss,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
Noun
-
The Bucs avenged a 12-10 loss and a 16-8 setback in the two regular-season matchups between the two teams.—
Alex Kushel,
Sun Sentinel,
10 May 2026
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On Saturday, the schools learned how much the setbacks affected their playoff seeding.—
Dan Albano,
Oc Register,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
The dot-com crash was disastrous for the company and Turner, the largest individual shareholder in the combined company.—
Bryan Alexander,
USA Today,
7 May 2026
-
Those incidents surfaced more than a year after Devin Willock and recruiting staff member Chandler LeCroy were killed in a car crash in 2023.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
Travellers flying in or out of the hub ogled the spectacle, a display of sudden corporate collapse.—
Doreen St. Félix,
New Yorker,
9 May 2026
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The airline’s collapse followed years of instability, bankruptcy filings, engine recall issues affecting its fleet and failed merger attempts with Frontier Airlines and JetBlue.—
Anthony Thompson,
USA Today,
8 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Relapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relapse. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
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