regress

Regress means to go back to a worse or less developed state.

(verb)

An example of to regress is to return to the habit of smoking cigarettes.

Regress is defined as the act of going back to a worse state.

(noun)

An example of a regress is a return to a previously-held job that paid less.

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See regress in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

  1. a going or coming back
  2. the right or privilege of this
  3. backward movement; retrogression

Origin: ME regresse < L regressus, pp. of regredi, to go back, return < re-, back + gradi, to go: see grade

intransitive verb

  1. to go back; return; move backward
  2. to undergo regression

Related Forms:

See regress in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb re·gressed, re·gress·ing, re·gress·es
verb, intransitive
  1. To go back; move backward.
  2. To return to a previous, usually worse or less developed state.
  3. To have a tendency to approach or go back to a statistical mean.
verb, transitive
Psychology
To induce a state of regression in.
noun (rēˈgrĕsˌ)
  1. a. The act of going or coming back; return.
    b. Passage back; reentry.
  2. The act of reasoning backward from an effect to a cause.

Origin:

Origin: Latin regredī, regress-

Origin: : re-, re-

Origin: + gradī, to go; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots

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Related Forms:

  • re·gresˈsor noun

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