Definition of REGRESS
an act or the privilege of going or coming back; reentry… See the full definition
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re·gress
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Definition of
regress
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
a
:
an act or the privilege of going or coming back
b
2
:
movement backward to a previous and especially worse or more primitive state or condition
3
:
the act of reasoning backward
regress
re·gress
|
regressed
;
regressing
;
regresses
Definition of
regress
(Entry 2 of 2)
1
a
:
to make or undergo regress
:
retrograde
b
:
to be subject to or exhibit
regression
2
:
to tend to approach or revert to a mean
:
to induce a state of psychological regression in
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Other Words from
regress
Verb
regressor
noun
Synonyms & Antonyms for
regress
Synonyms: Verb
,
,
Antonyms: Verb
,
,
,
Did You Know?
As you might guess,
regress
is the opposite of
progress
. So if a disease regresses, that’s generally a good thing, but in most other ways we prefer not to regress. If someone’s mental state has been improving, we hope that person won’t start to regress; and when a nation’s promising educational system begins to regress, that’s a bad sign for the country’s future. Economists often distinguish between a
progressive
tax and a
regressive
tax; in a progressive tax, the percentage that goes to taxes gets larger as the amount of money being taxed gets larger, while in a regressive tax the percentage gets smaller.
Examples of
regress
in a Sentence
Verb
The patient is
regressing
to a childlike state.
in extreme circumstances, people sometimes
regress
to the behavior they exhibited in childhood
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
Logan continued to receive a partial school day for years as Pearson watched him
regress
.
—
Sarah Butrymowicz,
USA TODAY
, “‘My kid matters, too’: Parents ask why students in special education programs are sent home early,” 25 Mar. 2021
As this shift to e-commerce kicks off, grocery chains are also continuing to evolve loyalty and retention programs with an eye on a future that may see sales
regress
to pre-pandemic levels.
—
Jonathan Treiber,
Forbes
, “Is The Grocery Industry Doomed To Make The Mistakes Of The Past?,” 17 Mar. 2021
Put that with a defense that finished first in the NFL in turnovers created (29), and sixth overall in points allowed last season, and the Dolphins should be a force in 2021 if the defense doesn’t
regress
, which is possible.
—
Omar Kelly,
sun-sentinel.com
, “Kelly: Acquiring Deshaun Watson wouldn’t prevent Dolphins from continuing to build | Commentary,” 24 Feb. 2021
Los Angeles is forking over eye-popping compensation, but coach Sean McVay and general manager Les Snead had publicly signaled their dissatisfaction with Goff, who has appeared to
regress
since signing that $134 million contract in September 2019.
—
Mike Jones,
USA TODAY
, “Analysis: Rams fork over a lot to the Lions for Matt Stafford, but it’s clear LA was disappointed with Jared Goff,” 31 Jan. 2021
How did Oregon, a top 15 defense in most every statistic a year ago but particularly stout against the run and at creating negative plays,
regress
so far so fast?
—
oregonlive
, “Will going ‘back to the blueprint’ fix Oregon Ducks’ porous run defense before facing Cal?,” 30 Nov. 2020
The former Cardinals head coach and Steelers offensive coordinator has seen his offense
regress
compared with the rest of the league since adding Brady.
—
Star Tribune
, “Scouting report: Vikings at Tampa Bay,” 10 Dec. 2020
Turning the clock back would be social
regress
, not reform.
—
Richard Morrison,
National Review
, “Biden Brain Trust: Forget the Billionaires, Guillotine the Corporations,” 23 Nov. 2020
Stafford plays well in a tough spot and gets the Lions shockingly above .500 while the Colts
regress
more to the mean.
—
Scott Horner,
The Indianapolis Star
, “NFL Week 8 picks: Colts have a small edge on the Lions,” 30 Oct. 2020
Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Also, those scary COVID color tiers have finally begun to
regress
all over California from purple to red to orange, and vaccine-shot selfies are filling my feeds.
—
Christian Reynoso,
San Francisco Chronicle
, “Have a taste of spring with this bright, herbaceous pork shoulder,” 2 Apr. 2021
Kids who do feel unsafe might begin to
regress
, exhibiting poor sleep or eating patterns, nightmares, or clinginess.
—
BostonGlobe.com
, “How to talk to kids about gun violence,” 26 Mar. 2021
If a reckoning is postponed, American conservatism will continue to
regress
.
—
Garry Kasparov,
WSJ
, “The GOP Hit Rock Bottom. Can Conservatives Recover?,” 21 Jan. 2021
The Browns went 4-6 after the bye, and Mayfield continued to
regress
, ultimately finishing second-last in the NFL with a 78.8 rating, and with 21 interceptions for second-most in the NFL.
—
cleveland
, “Drew Stanton: Where it went wrong for Baker Mayfield and Freddie Kitchens and why it’s great for the QB now,” 20 Dec. 2020
The 4-year-old posted a decisive win in an optional-claimer at Ellis Park in August while making his first start for trainer Brad Cox but seemed to
regress
at Pimlico.
—
Wire Services,
NOLA.com
, “Fair Grounds is back! Bobby’s Wicked One back to defend Thanksgiving Classic title,” 24 Nov. 2020
The shot-making on offense should be a drastic improvement from the last two seasons, but the defense can’t afford to
regress
even after losing two high-level defenders like Naji Marshall and Jones.
—
Adam Baum,
The Enquirer
, “Xavier basketball: 5 questions facing the Musketeers in the 2020-21 season,” 19 Nov. 2020
Counties used to
regress
only if their metrics fell in the range of a more restrictive tier for two straight weeks.
—
Luke Money,
Los Angeles Times
, “California dramatically rolls back reopening amid unprecedented COVID-19 surge,” 16 Nov. 2020
But with fewer games and some easy matchups, Fields’ numbers won’t
regress
too far.
—
Christopher Smith,
al
, “Why Mac Jones’ Heisman chances may shrink,” 9 Nov. 2020
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word ‘regress.’ Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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First Known Use of
regress
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at
sense 1a
Verb
circa 1522, in the meaning defined at
intransitive sense 1a
History and Etymology for
regress
Noun
Middle English
regresse
, from Anglo-French, from Latin
regressus
, from
regredi
to go back, from
re-
+
gradi
to go — more at
grade
entry
1
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regress
Dictionary Entries near
regress
Statistics for
regress
Last Updated
1 Apr 2021
Look-up Popularity
Cite this Entry
“Regress.”
Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary
, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/regress. Accessed 30 Apr. 2021.
Style:
MLA
MLA
Chicago
APA
Merriam-Webster
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More Definitions for
regress
regress
English Language Learners Definition of
regress
technical
:
to return to an earlier and usually worse or less developed condition or state
See the full definition for
regress
in the English Language Learners Dictionary
regress
re·gress
|
Medical Definition of
regress
:
to undergo or exhibit
regression
a
regressing
lesion
:
to induce a state of psychological regression in
regress
a hypnotized subject
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More from Merriam-Webster on
regress
Thesaurus:
All synonyms and antonyms for
regress
Nglish:
Translation of
regress
for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English:
Translation of
regress
for Arabic Speakers
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regress
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regress
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