relapsing n : a failure to maintain a higher state [syn: backsliding, lapse, lapsing, relapse, reversion, reverting]

English

Verb

relapsing

1. present participle of relapse

For the record label, see Relapse Records.

A relapse (etymologically, "who falls again") occurs when a person is affected again by a condition that affected them in the past. This could be a medical or psychological condition such as depression, bipolar disorder, multiple sclerosis, cancer or an addiction to a drug.

For example, if someone who had problems with alcohol were to give up alcohol and then later start drinking again, this drinking might be considered a relapse. It is different from a slip or lapse in that it implies a return to previous behaviour patterns, as opposed to a one-time occurrence.

It may also, in medicine, mean the end of a remission.