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↩️ To go backward 📊 To analyze data 🔄 Endless reasoning ↩️ A backward step
regress

regress

1 8.1
A return to an earlier, less developed or worse state
  • noun
  • /rɪˈɡrɛs/
translation icon : retroceso
  • Still, for some, an elegant simplicity may seem like regress instead of progress.
  • progress and regress

I'm not sure there's been regress in philosophy.

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Examples

  • This is regress, not progress, and the GOP will pay a severe price for the Faustian bargain of "electability" that it entails.

    Blog text (1)

  • Progress becomes promoting regress.

    Blog text (29)

  • That is to say, the spiral path of return to origins is a path of regress on the way to higher progress.

    Academic text (1990)

  • I'm not sure there's been regress in philosophy.

    ReasonTV

  • The child's constant refusal to try new things showed a clear regress to a more fearful state.

  • Many believe that the recent changes in education reflect a regress rather than progress for students.

  • The company's financial struggles have led to a noticeable regress in its overall performance.

Synonyms

regression
vsregress
  • Specialized
17 7.6

A return to an earlier, less developed state in behaviour or skills

is the broad general term for return to a less developed state
backsliding
vsregress
3 7.2

A return to old bad habits after making progress

is the broader return to earlier state without moral or behaviour focus
reversion
vsregress
3 6.9

A return to an earlier state or condition

is the general idea of returning to an earlier or worse state
relapsing
vsregress
2 7.2

Returning to a bad condition after getting better

is a general return that does not require prior improvement
retrogression
vsregress
  • Formal
1 8.9

A change back to an earlier, worse state in a country or system

is the basic term for returning to a previous or less developed state
retroversion
vsregress
9.9

A return to an earlier state or style

is the general return idea not focused on style or form

Antonyms

progress
∞ 2.5

Forward change toward a goal or better state

How Developed

to flourish
116 4.1
to progress
209 2.5
to develop
905 1.6
to stabilize
  • US
75 4.3
to stagnate
19 6.8
to deteriorate
146 5.9
regress
1 8.1

Surface Forms

regress singular
regresses plural

Morphology

regress = regress (semi-transparent) = re + gress

The noun is a straightforward zero-derived use of the verb meaning the act or process of regressing.

Etymology

Regress comes from the Latin parts re- 'back' and gress 'step', so it helps to picture someone taking a step backward instead of forward, the opposite of progress. So a regress is a return to an earlier or less developed state.