Word.ws English Dictionary

How to use regressive in a sentence

11 example sentences · adjective

Regressive means that tends to return, revert or regress. Example: “Her ideas on art and society seem quaint and odd on the one hand and, on the other, petty and regressive.”

Examples of regressive by meaning

adjectiveThat tends to return, revert or regress.

  • Her ideas on art and society seem quaint and odd on the one hand and, on the other, petty and regressive.1981 December 27, Wade Nichols, “Victorian Imperialism”, in Gay Community News, volume 9, number 23, page 5
  • A contributing factor to this slightly regressive femininity may have been the sugary fabrics (silver lamé, tulle over sequins) and the meringuelike puffs and baby Googums bows at the neck.2007 February 6, Cathy Horyn, “Young Spirits, One of Them an Old Master”, in The New York Times
  • It’s weird and regressive to think that means he is making a statement about his sexual orientation or gender identity.2023 February 8, Arwa Mahdawi, “People like Harry Styles don’t get awards? Pah!”, in G2 (w:The Guardian), London, page 3

More sentences with regressive

  • Graham Taylor, usually cast as a regressive long-ball manager, understood the error.2022 October 27, Paul Hayward, England Football: The Biography: 1872 - 2022, Simon and Schuster, →ISBN. From the entry long ball
  • More generally, regressive sedimentary episodes often correlate with widespread stratigraphic gaps implying erosion or non-deposition.1978, A. Hallam, “Eustatic cycles in the Jurassic”, in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, volume 23, Amsterdam: Elsevier…. From the entry stillstand
  • Although the causes for regressive autism are most likely multifactoral, one possible co-factor — vaccination — stimulates the most intense debate.2007 June 25, “Autism: What Research Is Needed? (7 Letters)”, in New York Times. From the entry multifactoral
  • And unless the universe is thought of as essentially lifeless, might there not be a regressive return to pre-scientific pan-vitalism?2006, John F. Haught, Is Nature Enough? Meaning and Truth in the Age of Science, page 72. From the entry pan-vitalism
  • Jane's compulsively active dreamlife is further characterized by recurrent, anxiety-ridden, and regressive nightmares, with images of barriers, closed doors and phantom-children.1988, Maurianne Adams, “Jane Eyre: Woman's Estate”, Arlyn Diamond, Lee R. Edwards (ed.), The Authority of Experience: Essays in Feminist…. From the entry dreamlife
  • A haymishe but thoroughly regressive, look at dilemmas past.1988 June 10, Anthony Adler, “Berlin, Jerusalem and the Moon”, in Chicago Reader. From the entry haymishe
  • The taste is faintly regressive, reminiscent of the pleasure to be found in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when one is ravenously hungry.1992 March 15, Frances Frank Marcus, “A Sweet Pleasure From New Orleans: The Praline”, in The New York Times, →ISSN. From the entry praline
  • In a world of youth idolatry, we easily lose our proleptic quality after the first peak, and become regressive, looking back toward the peaks already passed.1995, John S. Murphy, Frederic M. Hudson, The Joy of Old: A Guide to Successful Elderhood, page 41. From the entry proleptic

Meaning of regressive

  1. adjective That tends to return, revert or regress.
  2. adjective Whose rate decreases as the taxed amount increases.

Full definition of regressive

Questions about regressive in a sentence

How do you use regressive in a sentence?
Regressive is used as an adjective. For example: “Her ideas on art and society seem quaint and odd on the one hand and, on the other, petty and regressive.”
What is a short sentence with regressive?
“A haymishe but thoroughly regressive, look at dilemmas past.”
What does regressive mean?
Regressive means that tends to return, revert or regress.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: regressive (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “How to use regressive in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/regressive. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.