relapse

Etymology

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

verb

1. (intransitive) To fall back again; to slide or turn back into a former state or practice.
   He has improved recently but keeps relapsing into states of utter confusion.
   to relapse into a stupor, into vice, or into barbarism
   to relapse into slumber after being disturbed
2. (intransitive, medicine, of a disease) To recur; to worsen, be aggravated (after a period of improvement).
3. (intransitive, informal, specifically) To return to a vice, especially self-harm or alcoholism, failing to maintain abstinence.
   relapsed after 5 months of being clean
4. To slip or slide back physically; to turn back.

noun

1. The act or situation of relapsing.
   a drug relapse
2. (medicine) An occasion when a person becomes ill again after a period of improvement
3. (obsolete) One who has relapsed, or fallen back into error; a backslider.