regression

[ri-gresh-uhn]

noun

1. the act of going back to a previous place or state; return or reversion.

2. retrogradation; retrogression.

3. Biology.,  reversion to an earlier or less advanced state or form or to a common or general type.

4. Psychoanalysis.,  the reversion to a chronologically earlier or less adapted pattern of behavior and feeling.

5. a subsidence of a disease or its manifestations.

   a regression of symptoms.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or determined by regression analysis.

   regression curve; regression equation.

regression

/ rɪˈɡrɛʃən /

noun

1. psychol the adoption by an adult or adolescent of behaviour more appropriate to a child, esp as a defence mechanism to avoid anxiety

2. statistics

   1. the analysis or measure of the association between one variable (the dependent variable) and one or more other variables (the independent variables), usually formulated in an equation in which the independent variables have parametric coefficients, which may enable future values of the dependent variable to be predicted

   2. ( as modifer )

      regression curve

3. astronomy the slow movement around the ecliptic of the two points at which the moon's orbit intersects the ecliptic. One complete revolution occurs about every 19 years

4. geology the retreat of the sea from the land

5. the act of regressing

regression

1. A subsiding of the symptoms or process of a disease.

2. The return of a population to an earlier or less complex physical type in successive generations.

3. The relationship between the mean value of a random variable and the corresponding values of one or more independent variables.

4. A relative fall in sea level resulting in deposition of terrestrial strata over marine strata.

5. Compare transgression

6. Retrograde motion of a celestial body.

regression

1. A Freudian concept used by psychiatrists to signify a return to primitive or impulsive behavior after more mature behavior has been learned. (See also defense mechanism, id, and libido.)

Other Word Forms

• nonregression noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of regression¹

First recorded in 1510–20, regression is from the Latin word regressiōn- (stem of regressiō ). See regress, -ion

Example Sentences

"So far, Tuchel's time in charge of England has felt like more of the same. In fact, on occasions it has felt like a regression."

From BBC

But they did not adopt a conscious policy of regression to the past in science and technology.

From Salon

Wrobleski, who had a 2.73 ERA in an impressive June before Saturday’s regression, did eventually settle down, but not before Díaz homered at the start of the third to put the Astros up there.

From Los Angeles Times

There is a pop culture trope to which I find myself irresistibly drawn, a kind of modern myth of regression.

From Salon

It does, however, lay bare an abusive culture at American Apparel and how Charney — who shot many of the ads himself — turned his own alleged regressions into a wildly successful branding campaign.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• backsliding www.thesaurus.com
• relapse