regressive
Americanadjective
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regressing or tending to regress; retrogressive.
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Biology. of, relating to, or effecting regression.
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(of tax) decreasing proportionately with an increase in the tax base.
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Logic. obtained from or characterized by backward reasoning.
adjective
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regressing or tending to regress
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(of a tax or tax system) levied or graduated so that the rate decreases as the amount taxed increases See progressive
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of, relating to, or characteristic of regression
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of regressive
Explanation
Use the adjective regressive to describe something that moves backward instead of forward, like a society that grants women fewer and fewer rights each year. To understand the word regressive, it's helpful to know that its antonym, or opposite, is progressive. When something is progressive, it tends to get better and more advanced. Something that's regressive, on the other hand, gets less developed or returns to an older state. Since the late 1800s, regressive has also labeled a kind of tax policy that rewards those who make more money and punishes those who make less.
Vocabulary lists containing regressive
"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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Government and the Economy, Sections 3–5
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State and Local Governments, Sections 5–6
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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.
The reliance on sales taxes—10.55% in Seattle—is deeply regressive.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 11, 2026
Florida ranks fifth for tax competitiveness but is considered to have the most regressive tax system in the U.S.
From Barron's • Apr. 20, 2026
Although the manosphere content often cited by media and scholars is not necessarily racially regressive, it is distinctly gender regressive, and that appears to be taking a toll on Gen Z.
From Slate • Jan. 6, 2026
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 • Oct. 20, 2025
Analytic observation, too, shows that the dream-work never limits itself to translating these thoughts in the archaic or regressive mode of expression known to you.
From A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Freud, Sigmund
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.
