relapse
noun
re·lapse
| \ ri-ˈlaps
, ˈrē-ˌlaps
\
, ˈrē-ˌlaps
\
Definition of relapse
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: the act or an instance of backsliding, worsening, or subsiding
2
: a recurrence of symptoms of a disease after a period of improvement
relapse
verb
re·lapse
| \ ri-ˈlaps
\
\
relapsed;
relapsing
Definition of relapse (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to slip or fall back into a former worse state
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Examples of relapse in a Sentence
Noun
Everyone thought she was well until a sudden relapse sent her back to the hospital. a drug addict who has had a relapse a drug addict who has a history of relapseVerb
If you don't continue your treatment, you could relapse. Malaria can relapse years after the original infection. The country soon relapsed into chaos. She stayed out of trouble for a long time, but then she relapsed into her old ways.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Investigators in Utah did not believe his comments were suicidal, though Nelson’s family thought he’d recently suffered a drug relapse. — James Queally, Los Angeles Times, "Utah man pleads not guilty in slayings of deputy at Jack in the Box and Russian snowboard champ in L.A.," 22 July 2019 Officials have announced a new aftercare program meant to help prison inmates in addiction recovery avoid relapse. — USA TODAY, "Crystal Cathedral reborn Catholic, 'Conjuring' house, Wiki ‘editathon’: News from around our 50 states," 11 July 2019 Its effects often wore off much sooner, exposing patients to a relapse of pain, withdrawal, or both – suffering relieved only by the next pill. — NBC News, "How judges added to the grim toll of opioids," 25 June 2019 Once a patient leaves rehab, certain events or circumstances can trigger a relapse. — Lindsay Carlton, Fox News, "Demi Lovato apparent overdose: How to keep loved ones from relapsing," 27 July 2018 In the first two episodes of Euphoria, Zendaya’s character, a 17-year-old addict named Rue, gets out of rehab and promptly relapses. — Hannah Hickok, Teen Vogue, "Why Our Generation Is Hooked on "Failure TV"," 11 July 2019 Those patients struggled with overdoses and relapses. — WSJ, "States Are Right to Pursue Big Opioid Maker," 19 June 2019 The relapse lasted a little over a year until one morning Andy saw that Dakota — who liked nice things and brand names — was wearing shorts with holes to school. — Freep.com, "Livonia dad torments himself every day over his son's final hours," 16 June 2019 And a former student of mine, Robert Heiserman, another Rotarian, fell victim to polio as a child and died from a relapse in 2018. — Ved Nanda, The Denver Post, "Nanda: WHO, Rotary Clubs have made the world a healthier place," 27 June 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Opioid addiction changes the brain in ways that even when people quit can leave them vulnerable to relapse, changes that researchers believe lessen with long-term abstinence. — Lauran Neergaard, The Denver Post, "Researchers peek into opioid users’ brains as they try to quit," 9 July 2019 This summer at Stanford, Dr. Lacayo will launch a clinical trial of an adult leukemia drug made by Roche on children whose leukemia has relapsed. — Lucette Lagnado, WSJ, "For Children With Cancer, Hope for New Treatments," 15 Jan. 2019 Just after Thanksgiving in 2016, Evan McLaughlin relapsed without warning, his mother said. — David Armstrong, STAT, "The addict brokers: Middlemen profit as desperate patients are ‘treated like paychecks’," 28 May 2017 To reach the two-trial threshold, the FDA broke its precedent for psychiatric drugs and allowed the company to count a trial conducted to study a different topic: relapse and remission trends. — NBC News, "Caution urged over use of fast-acting version of ketamine for depression," 11 June 2019 Kevin relapsed and just had an interesting encounter with his engaged ex-girlfriend, Sophie. — Glamour, "The This Is Us Cast Says the Season 3 Finale Will Have You on the Edge of Your Seat," 25 Mar. 2019 Lohan's attorney, Blair Berk, said her client had relapsed and was again receiving medical care. — Jennifer Earl, Fox News, "Lindsay Lohan's rise and fall: From Disney darling to tabloid sensation," 10 Aug. 2018 Now nearly four years after Mia’s initial bouts, there is improvement -- along with vulnerability to relapse. — Mike Candelaria, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Chronic fatigue syndrome puts Central Florida woman on a mission to help," 11 May 2018 The second beta-thalassemia patient who relapsed was enrolled in an older and completed LentiGlobin clinical trial that Bluebird will use as the basis for a European approval application later this year. — Adam Feuerstein, STAT, "New Bluebird data show promising benefits for gene therapy, if they last," 15 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'relapse.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for relapse
relapse
noun
English Language Learners Definition of relapse
(Entry 1 of 2)
: the return of an illness after a period of improvement
: a return to bad behavior that you had stopped doing
relapse
verb
English Language Learners Definition of relapse (Entry 2 of 2)
: to become ill again after a period of improvement in health
of an illness
: to return or become worse after leaving or improving for a period of time
: to return to a bad condition, form of behavior, etc.
See the full definition for relapse in the English Language Learners Dictionary
relapse
noun
re·lapse
| \ ri-ˈlaps
, ˈrē-ˌlaps\
, ˈrē-ˌlaps\
Kids Definition of relapse
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: a return of illness after a period of improvement
2
: a return to a former and undesirable state or condition
a relapse into bad habits
relapse
verb