relapse
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
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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:
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
Whether it is a renaissance or a relapse depends almost entirely on whether Mourinho has learned anything from the last decade.
From BBC ● May 13, 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
After his Pearl Harbor relapse, he had recovered quickly.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
The European Commission approved Cenrifki for secondary progressive multiple sclerosis without relapses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Borg admits to several relapses during the 1990s when he also made an abbreviated tennis comeback.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2025
I wonder if my relapses into depression would happen anyway, or if they are a side effect of menopause.
From Slate ● Jun. 14, 2025
Current anti-inflammatory treatments bring relief but often fall short, as patients can lose their response to these medications over time, suffer relapses, and experience significant side effects.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 20, 2024
Sometimes, when I have relapses of my old demon, I lie in the crook of his arm and he comforts me this way, talking to me all night long to stave off the bad dreams.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Food and Drug Administration is reviewing Arcellx’s application seeking approval of anito-cel as a fourth-line treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, with a decision expected by the end of the year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026
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
But in 2017 she relapsed, with Ms Tucker saying at this stage the tumour "eventually took over".
From BBC ● Dec. 3, 2025
Her MS hasn’t relapsed in a while, but she has limited sensation in her hands, feet and ankles, and says she sometimes has trouble with her short-term memory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 9, 2025
Then once again we relapsed into silence, sunk in our own thoughts.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
But now, almost a decade later, the Times looks to be relapsing into bad form.
From Salon ● Apr. 6, 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
The Swiss pharmaceutical group said Monday that fenebrutinib met its primary endpoint in a Phase 3 clinical trial in patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis, the most common form of the disease.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2025
"Most don't realise that obesity is a chronic, relapsing disease," says Dr Muffazal Lakhdawala, a Mumbai-based bariatric surgeon.
From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2025
She was fast relapsing into stupor; nor did her mind again rally: at twelve o’clock that night she died.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
