regress

[ri-gres, ree-gres]

verb (used without object)

1. to move backward; go back.

   Synonyms: ebb, lapse, backslide, retreat, revert

2. to revert to an earlier or less advanced state or form.

noun

1. the act of going back; return.

2. the right to go back.

3. backward movement or course; retrogression.

regress

verb

1. (intr) to return or revert, as to a former place, condition, or mode of behaviour

2. (tr) statistics to measure the extent to which (a dependent variable) is associated with one or more independent variables

noun

1. the act of regressing

2. movement in a backward direction; retrogression

3. logic a supposed explanation each stage of which requires to be similarly explained, as saying that knowledge requires a justification in terms of propositions themselves known to be true

Other Word Forms

• regressor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of regress¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English regresse (noun), from Latin regressus “a return,” noun use of past participle of regredī “to go back, return,” from re- re- + -gredī, combining form of gradī “to step, walk, go”; gradient

Word History and Origins

Origin of regress¹

C14: from Latin regressus a retreat, from regredī to go back, from _re- + gradī to go

Example Sentences

Rachel Slaughter said her son will only receive six months of therapy this year and fears he will "regress" as a result.

From BBC

“So the ability to play the infield, kick out to the outfield, and not be compromised by the ankle and not regress, that’s something we need.”

From Los Angeles Times

Audiences are clamoring for great theatrical comedies, but laughter shouldn’t come at the cost of progressiveness, especially in a moment when so much of the media is willfully regressing toward conservatism.

From Salon

His “Naked Gun” doesn’t want to regress; it wants to surprise and surpass while never punching down.

From Los Angeles Times

Pointedly and inevitably, our leads regress into Mars-Venus caricatures — he’s the jerk, she’s the psycho — as Brooks vents her frustration that gender tropes haven’t evolved.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• degenerate 
• deteriorate 
• ebb 
• fall back 
• fall off 
• recede 
• revert