relapse
part of speech
noun (a relapse, relapses); verb (relapse, relapses, relapsed, relapsing)
meaning for a pupil
1) Becoming ill again after seeming to get better. tree →
2) Going back to a bad habit or behaviour after stopping it. tree →
3) verb To fall back into illness or a bad state. tree →
sense in the lessons
In adult life and health: a patient may «have a relapse». In ethics and habits: someone trying to stop smoking may relapse. In school stories, a child may relapse into old naughty ways. Phrases: «suffer a relapse», «relapse into».
examples
- Grandpa was getting better but then had a relapse. tree →
- After a good week, he relapsed into his old habit of chewing pencils. tree →
- The doctor warned her to rest to avoid a relapse. tree →
- She relapsed into silence. tree →
- A relapse can happen, so keep trying. tree →
- He stayed away from sweets for a month before a small relapse. tree →
- Whenever the old man had occasion to reprimand the little boy--and the occasions were frequent--he would relapse into a dignified but stubborn silence. tree →
note
Same spelling for noun and verb; stress: re-LAPSE (verb), RE-lapse or re-LAPSE (noun). A relapse does not mean failure forever; many people try again and succeed.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «relapse» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.