regress
Americanverb (used without object)
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regresses,
present (3rd person singular)
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regressed,
past participle, past
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regressing
present participle
noun
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the act of going back; return.
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the right to go back.
-
backward movement or course; retrogression.
verb
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(intr) to return or revert, as to a former place, condition, or mode of behaviour
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(tr) statistics to measure the extent to which (a dependent variable) is associated with one or more independent variables
noun
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the act of regressing
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movement in a backward direction; retrogression
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logic a supposed explanation each stage of which requires to be similarly explained, as saying that knowledge requires a justification in terms of propositions themselves known to be true
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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regresssimple
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regressessimple
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have regressedperfect
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has regressedperfect
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am regressingprogressive
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are regressingprogressive
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is regressingprogressive
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have been regressingperfect progressive
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has been regressingperfect progressive
Past
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regressedsimple
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had regressedperfect
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was regressingprogressive
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were regressingprogressive
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had been regressingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of regress
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English regresse (noun), from Latin regressus “a return,” noun use of past participle of regredī “to go back, return,” from re- re- + -gredī, combining form of gradī “to step, walk, go”; cf. gradient
Explanation
To regress is to return to a former state or condition, and not usually in a good way. It often means "relapse" or "get worse." First used in the late 14th century as a noun meaning "act of going back," regress originates from the Latin regress, meaning "a return." Many feel that the regress to anti-social behavior among teenagers is caused by violent video games, TV shows, and movies. A 30 year old forced to move back home may regress to old, childlike habits. It can also happen to someone's health, like when the condition of someone in recovery takes a turn for the worse.
Vocabulary lists containing regress
Spinnin' Around
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Vocabulary from The Articles of Confederation
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Its the perfect time" for South Korea to leverage its strategic advantage and make investments as "the AI boom might die down" and demand could regress, he told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
The Dodgers are still trying to figure out ways to make sure he doesn’t regress once the catcher comes back from a neck injury.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2026
Instead, the cells appeared to regress into a more juvenile form.
From Science Daily ● May 27, 2026
Not that stars tell us much: A Journal study in 2017 showed that five-star funds often regress to being just average after winning the accolade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
Our familiar universe of galaxies and stars, planets and people, would be a single elementary particle in the next universe up, the first step of another infinite regress.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
If the U.S. regresses in friendlies with Ecuador and Australia next month, the angst and despair that have hovered over the team most of the year will return.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2025
But if the team regresses, that glow will dim, a reality that Leiweke recognizes.
From Seattle Times ● May 16, 2023
As the movie’s biggest name, Vaughn regresses to his second-rate deadpan comedy roles of old, forcing his way through a comedically constipated performance.
From New York Times ● Aug. 27, 2020
Beneath the myriad patinas of culture, there is a fixed human nature that neither improves nor regresses.
From Washington Post ● May 30, 2019
Without radioactivity to maintain it, the disease seems to be arrested immediately, and if the tissue damage has not gone too far, the tumor regresses and eventually disappears.
From The Star Lord by Boyd Ellanby
But his recovery regressed, and he was shut down from throwing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The study, which analyzed 109 of the top English-language theatrical film releases of 2025, found that racially diverse and gender diverse representation regressed despite reaching highs in previous years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 12, 2026
But at Dilley, she regressed behaviorally, wetting herself after years without accidents and begging to breastfeed again despite being 6 years old.
From Slate ● Feb. 3, 2026
One year after winning 10 games with one of the league’s most potent offenses, they’ve regressed in pretty much every way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
You've probably regressed completely by now, living in that substandard old house with only your mother for company.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
Greyson was meeting all his milestones and speaking normally until age 2, when he started regressing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
But Kidman isn’t debasing herself or regressing just for the sick sight of it all.
From Salon ● Dec. 23, 2024
If you believe in those figures regressing to the mean - and I do - then "he's due".
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024
I only write when I feel like if I don’t write, then I’m moving backwards or I’m regressing in my own personal healing journey.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2024
“Barb” is what I was called as a child, and still am by my siblings, and I sense that at some level I’m regressing.
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
