Synonyms

regressive

American

[ri-gres-iv] / rɪˈgrɛs ɪv /

adjective

regressing or tending to regress; retrogressive.
Biology. of, relating to, or effecting regression.
(of tax) decreasing proportionately with an increase in the tax base.
Logic. obtained from or characterized by backward reasoning.

Other Word Forms

nonregressive adjective
nonregressively adverb
regressively adverb
regressiveness noun
regressivity noun
unregressive adjective
unregressively adverb
unregressiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of regressive

First recorded in 1625–35; regress + -ive

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.

It highlighted societal changes in Saudi Arabia that allowed edgy American comedians to perform in a country long dismissed as irredeemably puritanical and regressive.

From The Wall Street Journal

This contrast is a good deal more dramatically compelling than the somewhat overwrought psychological drama that exerts a regressive pull on “anthropology.”

From Los Angeles Times

Meanwhile, popular and scholarly treatments of white Southerners as overwhelmingly conservative and racially regressive abound.

From Salon

In the early 20th century, totalitarianism was best known in countries that had superficially been modernized, but remained regressive in crucial ways.

From Salon

The director describes the island's feudal way of life as deceptively safe but ultimately regressive – something Spike comes to realise.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023