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   relapse

   /rɪˈlaps/

   verb

   • 1. (of a sick or injured person) deteriorate after a period of improvement: "two of the patients in remission relapsed after 48 months" Similar get ill/worse againhave/suffer a relapseworsendeterioratedegeneratetake a turn for the worsesickenweakenfailsinkOpposite recoverimprove
   • ▪ return to (a less active or a worse state): "he relapsed into silence" Similar revertlapseregressretrogressbackslidefall backgo backwardsslip backslide backdrift backdegeneraterare:recidivateretrograde

   noun

   • 1. a deterioration in someone's state of health after a temporary improvement: "he responded well to treatment, but then suffered a relapse" Similar deteriorationworsening of someone's conditionturn for the worsesetbackweakeningrecurrencerepetitionOpposite recoveryimprovement

   Word Origin late Middle English: from Latin relaps- ‘slipped back’, from the verb relabi, from re- ‘back’ + labi ‘to slip’. Early senses referred to a return to heresy or wrongdoing.

   Derivatives

   • 1. relapser noun

   Scrabble Points: 9

   • R

     1

   • E

     1

   • L

     1

   • A

     1

   • P

     3

   • S

     1

   • E

     1

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