relapse

Definition

  • noun: the return of an illness after a period of improvement
  • noun: the act or an instance of backsliding, worsening, or subsiding
  • verb: to become ill again after a period of improvement in health
  • verb: to slip or fall back into a former worse state

Examples

  • The program has a low rate of 'relapse'. [=most people who use the program do not return to the bad behavior they had stopped doing]

  • Patients who stop taking the medication have a higher risk of 'relapse'. [=they are more likely to get sick again]

  • Everyone thought she was well until a sudden 'relapse' sent her back to the hospital.

Movie quotes