relapsing
relapsing is the present participle and gerund of relapse.
Meaning of relapse
Verb
relapse (third-person singular simple present relapses, present participle relapsing, simple past and past participle relapsed)
- 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 recur; to worsen, be aggravated (after a period of improvement).
- To return to a vice, especially self-harm or alcoholism, failing to maintain abstinence.
- relapsed after 5 months of being clean
- To slip or slide back physically; to turn back.
- You slip your hold and change your side,
Relapsing from a necessary guide.1700, [John] Dryden, “The Hind and the Panther”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
- You slip your hold and change your side,
Noun
relapsing (plural relapsings)
- A relapse.
- […] the silent grief beyond the power of words—the generous consolations of the noble sister—the shrinkings of the poor criminal, and his relapsings into a gentler penitence […]1822, The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal, volume 6, page 10
Forms of relapsing
| plural | relapsings |
|---|
Phrases with relapsing
Questions about relapsing
- What does relapsing mean?
- Relapsing means a relapse.
- What is relapsing the present participle and gerund of?
- Relapsing is the present participle and gerund of relapse.
- What part of speech is relapsing?
- Relapsing is a noun.
- What is the plural of relapsing?
- The plural of relapsing is relapsings.
Words near relapsing in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: relapsing (page history and authors); relapse (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “relapsing.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/relapsing. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.