lapsed

[ lapst ]

/ læpst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR lapsed ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

expired; voided; terminated: a lapsed insurance policy.

no longer committed to or following the tenets of a particular belief, obligation, position, etc.: a lapsed Catholic.

Nearby words

Origin of lapsed

First recorded in 1610–20; lapse + -ed²

Related formsun·lapsed, adjective

lapse

[ laps ]

/ læps /

noun

an accidental or temporary decline or deviation from an expected or accepted condition or state; a temporary falling or slipping from a previous standard: a lapse of justice.

a slip or error, often of a trivial sort; failure: a lapse of memory.

an interval or passage of time; elapsed period: a lapse of ten minutes before the program resumed.

a moral fall, as from rectitude or virtue.

a fall or decline to a lower grade, condition, or degree; descent; regression: a lapse into savagery.

the act of falling, slipping, sliding, etc., slowly or by degrees.

a falling into disuse.

Insurance. discontinuance of coverage resulting from nonpayment of a premium; termination of a policy.

Law. the termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it or through failure of some contingency.

Meteorology. lapse rate.

Archaic. a gentle, downward flow, as of water.

verb (used without object), lapsed, laps·ing.

to fall or deviate from a previous standard; fail to maintain a normative level: Toward the end of the book the author lapsed into bad prose.

to come to an end; stop: We let our subscription to that magazine lapse.

to fall, slip, or sink; subside: to lapse into silence.

to fall into disuse: The custom lapsed after a period of time.

to deviate or abandon principles, beliefs, etc.: to lapse into heresy.

to fall spiritually, as an apostate: to lapse from grace.

to pass away, as time; elapse.

Law. to become void, as a legacy to someone who dies before the testator.

to cease being in force; terminate: Your insurance policy will lapse after 30 days.

Origin of lapse

1520–30; < Latin lāpsus an error, slipping, failing, equivalent to lāb(ī) to slide, slip, fall, make a mistake + -sus, for -tus suffix of v. action

Related formslaps·er, nounun·laps·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lapsed

His continued enthusiasm for his work, when most other people would have long since lapsed into retirement, was remarkable.
Matisse: Innovator Until the End|Nico Hines|April 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Evans, 31, whose eyes gleam behind a mess of blonde hair, was a formerly committed Christian whose faith had lapsed.
Sunday Assembly Is the Hot New Atheist Church|Nico Hines|September 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Sher lapsed into prayer, imploring Allah to make the executions stop.
Death on Killer Mountain|Amanda Padoan|July 6, 2013|DAILY BEAST
At one point, when David was sitting with him, he lapsed into a restless sleep in which he began shouting in French.
Peter Worthington: A Life Well Lived|Justin Green|May 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST

As a lapsed Mississippian, one of the most shocking to me regarded his visit with Jefferson Davis down at Davis' home in Biloxi.
Brian Bedford Interviewed on The Importance of Being Earnest|Kevin Sessums|January 22, 2011|DAILY BEAST
He lapsed into silence till they approached the end of their drive.
A Young Man's Year|Anthony Hope
Some communication passed between them, but no action was taken and the matter seemed to have lapsed.
The Story of Paris|Thomas Okey
Between my first offering of chocolates and my last over a quarter of a century had lapsed.
The Mountebank|William J. Locke
Suddenly a deep slumberous breath, drawn close to her ear, makes her aware that her hearer has lapsed into sleep.
Red as a Rose is She|Rhoda Broughton
When dessert was on the table and port took the place of champagne he lapsed into a philosophic mood.
The Island Mystery|George A. Birmingham

British Dictionary definitions for lapsed

lapse

/ (læps) /

noun

a drop in standard of an isolated or temporary naturea lapse of justice

a break in occurrence, usage, etca lapse of five weeks between letters

a gradual decline or a drop to a lower degree, condition, or statea lapse from high office

a moral fall

law the termination of some right, interest, or privilege, as by neglecting to exercise it or through failure of some contingency

insurance the termination of coverage following a failure to pay the premiums

verb (intr)

to drop in standard or fail to maintain a norm

to decline gradually or fall in status, condition, etc

to be discontinued, esp through negligence or other failure

(usually foll by into) to drift or slide (into a condition)to lapse into sleep

(often foll by from) to turn away (from beliefs or norms)

law (of a devise or bequest) to become void, as on the beneficiary's predeceasing the testator

(of time) to slip away

Derived Formslapsable or lapsible, adjectivelapsed, adjectivelapser, noun

Word Origin for lapse

C15: from Latin lāpsus error, from lābī to glide

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lapsed

lapse

mid-15c., "elapsing of time, expiration;" also "temporary forfeiture of a legal right," from Middle French laps "lapse," from Latin lapsus "a slipping and falling, flight (of time), falling into error," from labi "to slip, glide, fall." Meaning "moral transgression, sin" is c.1500; that of "slip of the memory" is 1520s; that of "a falling away from one's faith" is from 1650s.

lapse

early 15c., said to be from lapse (n.) or from Latin lapsare "to lose one's footing." Related: Lapsed; lapses; lapsing.

lapsed

adjective

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Nearby words

Origin of lapsed

lapse

noun

verb (used without object), lapsed, laps·ing.

Origin of lapse

Examples from the Web for lapsed

lapse

noun

verb (intr)

Word Origin for lapse

lapse

lapse