relapse
Americanverb (used without object)
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relapses,
present (3rd person singular)
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relapsed,
past participle, past
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relapsing
present participle
noun
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relapses
plural
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an act or instance of relapsing.
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a return of a disease or illness after partial recovery from it.
verb
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to lapse back into a former state or condition, esp one involving bad habits
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to become ill again after apparent recovery
noun
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the act or an instance of relapsing
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the return of ill health after an apparent or partial recovery
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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relapsesimple
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relapsessimple
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have relapsedperfect
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has relapsedperfect
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am relapsingprogressive
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are relapsingprogressive
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is relapsingprogressive
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have been relapsingperfect progressive
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has been relapsingperfect progressive
Past
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relapsedsimple
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had relapsedperfect
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was relapsingprogressive
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were relapsingprogressive
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had been relapsingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of relapse
First recorded in 1400–50; (for the verb) late Middle English, from Latin relāpsus “slid back,” past participle of relābī “to slide back, revert,” from re- re- + lābī “to fall, slide, make a mistake”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
A relapse is a decline, especially of someone's health. If your grandmother survived cancer only to have it return two years later, you could say she suffered a relapse. Relapse implies that someone has recovered from an illness and slid back into a worse state, like when you are getting over a cold but then you suddenly feel bad all over again. Unwanted behavior can also be described this way; if you find yourself biting your nails again, it's a nail-biting relapse. The Latin word relabi is the root of relapse, slip back.
Vocabulary lists containing relapse
Spinnin' Around
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Esperanza Rising
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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:
Researchers found there was no significant difference in whether a patient had a relapse of their illness.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
The illness is characterized by discomfort, and while it can be frustrating when symptoms relapse, it’s not life-threatening for most people, according to the CDC.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Around 6.7 million people in the U.S. and 160 million worldwide develop the condition in their lifetime, but current therapies for alopecia have high relapse rates, Nektar said.
From Barron's ● Apr. 20, 2026
But she experienced a relapse of a neuroimmune condition shortly before joining the company last August, prompting her to work remotely from her home in Southern California.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
The news of the president's late-July relapse shocked and disappointed everyone, including his doctors.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
The European Commission approved Cenrifki for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis without relapses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
I wonder if my relapses into depression would happen anyway, or if they are a side effect of menopause.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2025
He said he went through several relapses with sepsis and was in hospital for 13 days.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2025
She’s not sure how her policy on relapses fits in.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025
Fie was assigned quarters on my old floor, but he has so many mental relapses, he still basically lives in the hospital.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
The Food and Drug Administration has accepted a biologics license application for anito-cel as a fourth-line treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.
From Barron's ● Feb. 23, 2026
Individuals who had relapsed after therapy had significantly narrower cristae than newly diagnosed patients, with the most dramatic differences appearing in those previously treated with venetoclax.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 23, 2025
To the insurer, it would look like he had relapsed, which he said he had not during that time.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
While the treatment was initially successful for two years, Isobel unfortunately relapsed in October 2022 with several tumours found across her body.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2024
For a moment he relapsed into his old Gollum-manner.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
This approach revealed traces of ancient pathogens, including the plague bacterium Yersinia pestis and the organism responsible for louse-borne relapsing fever, Borrelia recurrentis.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2026
But now, almost a decade later, the Times looks to be relapsing into bad form.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 2026
“Obesity is a chronic, relapsing, biologically defended disease,” says Stanford.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 16, 2026
Jebb emphasised that GLP-1 drugs "are a really valuable tool in obesity treatment -- but obesity is a chronic relapsing condition."
From Barron's ● Jan. 7, 2026
"Alive," she echoes, as if she were relapsing to her old quoting days.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
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.
