WordValerelapse
the return of a disease after improvement
In more detail
1. (noun) a return to illness or a bad condition after improving
2. (verb) to fall back into illness or a bad condition after improving
Examples
- 1. The patient had a relapse and returned to the hospital.
- 2. He relapsed into drug addiction after six months of recovery.
How to use relapse
Relapse is widely used in medical contexts to describe the return of symptoms after a period of improvement, particularly in mental health and addiction recovery. It implies a setback after progress and carries the sense that the improvement was temporary rather than permanent. The term is neutral and clinical, though it often carries emotional weight for those experiencing it.
Common phrases
- suffer a relapse
- have a relapse
- risk of relapse
- prevent relapse
- relapse into addiction
- relapse into illness
Synonyms
recurrence · return · backsliding · setback · regression
Opposites
recovery · improvement · remission
Word family
relapse (noun) · relapse (verb) · relapsed (adjective)
A common mistake
Learners sometimes use relapse for any illness recurrence without recognizing the implicit idea of prior improvement; relapse specifically means returning to a worse state after having gotten better, not simply getting sick again.
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