relapse

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   To slip back into a bad habit or harmful behaviour after a period of improvement.

   He stayed sober for a year before he relapsed.

2. 2
   verb

   To become ill again after seeming to recover.

   The patient relapsed a few weeks after leaving the hospital.

3. 3
   noun

   A return to a worse condition, illness, or bad habit after improvement.

   After months of progress, she suffered a sudden relapse.

From Latin relapsus, past participle of relabi (“to slide back, fall back”), from re- (“back”) + labi (“to slip, slide, fall”).

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