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
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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.
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Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of relapse
Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026
Clinical trials in the 1970s explored the potential of naltrexone as a treatment for opioid dependence, focusing on its ability to block the effects of drugs such as heroin and morphine and thereby reduce the likelihood of relapse.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Mar. 2026
Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 15 Mar. 2026
In reality, lupus tends to follow a relapsing-remitting pattern.
—Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relapse
Noun
Prescribers also have to contend with a lack of information about the long term effects of GLP-1 usage, which becomes especially dangerous when a return to form doesn’t just include weight loss but a possible relapse to life-threatening substance abuse.
—Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 27 Mar. 2026
Clinical trials in the 1970s explored the potential of naltrexone as a treatment for opioid dependence, focusing on its ability to block the effects of drugs such as heroin and morphine and thereby reduce the likelihood of relapse.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 26 Mar. 2026
Verb
The other two have a more common form of MS, called relapsing MS.
—Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC news, 15 Mar. 2026
In reality, lupus tends to follow a relapsing-remitting pattern.
—Lauryn Higgins, Flow Space, 13 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for relapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for relapse
Noun
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From Cape Coral to Kansas City, America’s housing market is undergoing a historic reversion to the mean—and the data couldn’t be more striking.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
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The announcement amounts to a reversion back to the bill the Senate passed last week that would have funded all of DHS except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and parts of Customs and Border Protection.—
Justin Papp,
CNBC,
1 Apr. 2026
Verb
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But Indiana's growth is projected to slow significantly in the coming decades as natural increase — births outnumbering deaths — gradually reverts into natural decrease.—
Jordan Smith,
IndyStar,
31 Mar. 2026
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Health inspectors ordered the plumbing works to be reverted before the establishment reopened.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Instead, the researchers think the violence stemmed from a breakdown of friendships and escalations between cliques and rivals.—
Evan Bush,
NBC news,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Any breakdown interrupts the missile’s ability to stay on course.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The contract lapsed at midnight March 31.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter did not clarify why the case lapsed for more than two decades.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Even if the new ceasefire holds and energy prices recede, relief won’t come quickly—and the ripple effects of higher prices could still cause a global recession or even a depression.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
10 Apr. 2026
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The conflict has snarled access to oil and gas, driving up prices and sparking fears among some economists about a potential recession.—
Mary Ramsey
April 9,
Charlotte Observer,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Our own editors have run the gamut of unexpected setbacks abroad, including getting mugged and pickpocketed, as well as having their passports stolen.—
Michelle Baricevic,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Apr. 2026
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That setback, according to those who knew him well, wounded him—and transformed him.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In 1949, Hogan was famously involved in a near-fatal car crash with a bus near El Paso.—
Mac Engel
April 9,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
9 Apr. 2026
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Nastiness can be framed as a function of mourning a loved one, as with Dorinda’s rants on RHONY; or despair over personal crises, as with RHOC star Shannon Beador’s DUI and car crash.—
Shamira Ibrahim,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
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To be present in Hungary on the eve of its upcoming elections is to feel the tremors of a regime confronting the prospect of collapse.—
Kapil Komireddi,
New Yorker,
10 Apr. 2026
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Spieth, nine holes away from another wire-to-wire victory, throws it away with a collapse around Amen Corner that is shocking even by Augusta National standards.—
Senior Editor,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Relapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relapse. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
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