relapseverb [ I ]
uk/rɪˈlæps/us/rɪˈlæps/formalto become ill or start behaving badly again, after making an improvement:
She managed to stop using drugs for a month, but then relapsed.
He looked happy for a brief while, before relapsing into silent misery.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Deteriorating and making worse
- a step backwards idiom
- a turn of the screw idiom
- add
- afford
- aggravate
- backslide
- compound
- decline
- degrade
- disintegrate
- dog
- downgrade
- downhill
- exacerbate
- regress
- retrograde
- retrogress
- run yourself down
- seed
- slip
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Being & falling ill
relapsenoun [ C ]
uk/ˈriː.læps/us/ˈriː.læps/formalIf someone who is getting better after an illness has a relapse, they become ill again:
She was looking quite healthy on Friday, but she had/suffered a relapse over the weekend and was taken back into hospital.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Not fit & healthy
- bedridden
- critical list
- crook
- danger list
- dehydrated
- emaciated
- far gone
- frailty
- groggy
- ill
- infirmity
- insufficiency
- knock
- malaise
- not agree with sb idiom
- off-colour
- organic
- shadow
- starved
- unhealthy
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