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
Jeff Winter, CNN Money, 31 Dec. 2025
The tool monitors brain signals in real time, using implants to record electrical impulses, and AI to analyze the outputs and flag warning signs of relapse.
—Perri Thaler, IEEE Spectrum, 21 Dec. 2025
Mekishana Pierre, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Dec. 2025
The story follows three addicts who, after their best friend’s overdose, join a secluded mountain sober house to get clean — only to discover the program’s most committed attendee is a recovering serial killer who’s relapsing in his own way.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 11 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for relapse
Noun
If participants make mistakes or relapse, they’re not kicked out.
—Verb
In a 2018 episode, Nick detailed a nightmarish experience relapsing into heroin use.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for relapse
Noun
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Many factor studies are most robust at roughly monthly horizons because fundamental and positioning data updates occur on that cadence, and because mean reversion is more likely to occur over weeks than over days, the duration aligns naturally with options trading frequency and maintenance.—
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Mean-reversion bubbles, by contrast, are fads that inflate and collapse without transforming the underlying industry.—
Verb
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That move is historically overextended and is likely to revert closer to the mean.—
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But Reiner said Shearer eventually realized that the movie’s stars hadn’t actually made that much money from the movie, and Shearer eventually got the rights to revert back to the creators.—
Noun
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But the victory didn’t come without the Clippers’ all-too-familiar third-quarter breakdown.—
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Oily Foods Fatty and oily foods can speed up the breakdown of plastic.—
Verb
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When a partner transforms fundamentally, obligations may lapse without dishonor.—
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Dogs with older licenses that have lapsed also are eligible.—
Noun
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In a recession In a rough economy, gold often takes the lead, living up to its reputation as a safe haven.—
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For all of 2025, employers added just 584,000 jobs, a sharp decline from 2 million jobs in 2024 and the weakest year outside of a recession since the early 2000s.—
Noun
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Despite the joy, the project wasn’t without setbacks.—
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The city’s housing crisis began nearly a century ago during the Great Depression (more than 35 years before the Landmarks Law was even enacted), and has experienced a series of improvements and setbacks with the ebbs and flows of our developing and unpredictable economy.—
Noun
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The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.—
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Investigators have pinpointed the exact part that failed in the fiery Louisville crash of a UPS cargo flight in November, killing 15 in all.—
Noun
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If trees and powerlines collapse, there's a chance that patio furniture can become airborne.—
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The Sacramento Kings suffered another fourth-quarter collapse as their losing streak continued with another blowout loss.—
Cite this Entry
“Relapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/relapse. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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