Skip to main content

regression

17 7.6
A return to an earlier, less developed state in behaviour or skills
  • noun
  • /rɪˈɡrɛʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : regresión
  • Following his surgery, there was noticeable regression in her physical therapy progress, requiring additional support from the therapist.
  • regression to the mean
  • regression analysis
  • regression model

So I actually think this is part of a bigger regression in society.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • The patient exhibited a regression in behavior after a traumatic event, showing signs of a less developed emotional state.

  • She suffered a spontaneous regression.

  • So I actually think this is part of a bigger regression in society.

  • This is what regression therapy did for me.

  • Now, I'd like to take you through... a childhood regression process.

  • But the former showed regression from democracy, whereas the latter demonstrated significant progress toward democracy.

    Academic text (1992)
  • It has come to my attention lately that your school work has suffered a serious regression.

  • An increasing number of activists are currently linking the Arab transition to democracy with a regression in women's rights.

  • The student also showed a regression in terms of utilizing the anxiety coping strategies.

    Academic text (2013)
  • Yet sometimes, severe psychotic regressions can cause a fragile psyche to revert to this primitive stage of life.

    Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

relapse
vsregression
33 6.5

A return to being ill or to a bad habit after getting better

is broader, not limited to post-improvement medical or health returns
backsliding
vsregression
3 7.2

A return to old bad habits after making progress

is neutral about morality and focuses on developmental or clinical return
reversion
vsregression
3 6.9

A return to an earlier state or condition

focuses on the act itself in psychological or medical contexts
relapsing
vsregression
2 7.2

Returning to a bad condition after getting better

is the wider act of returning, not only post-improvement recurrences
going backward
vsregression
1 3.7

Moving back to an earlier state instead of making progress

is the technical act of returning, especially in medicine or psychology
regress
vsregression
1 8.1

A return to an earlier, less developed or worse state

is the noun naming that action rather than the action itself
retrogression
vsregression
  • Formal
1 8.9

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

is the general term for returning without stressing decline severity
recrudescence
vsregression
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A return of a disease or problem after a time when things got better

covers returns generally, not only medical recurrences after inactivity
retroversion
vsregression
9.9

A return to an earlier state or style

emphasizes clinical or psychological return rather than style or fashion

Antonyms

119 4.1

Progress or growth that makes something better

62 3.8

A process of moving forward or developing over time

Compounds

regression analysis
  • Specialized
3 6.6

A way that uses past data to find how one thing depends on others and predict it

linear regression
  • Specialized
1 3.9

A way to use a straight line to show how one number changes with another

multiple regression
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A way to find how several things affect one result

regression line
  • Specialized
1 6.0

A straight or smooth curved line drawn through dots shows how two numbers change together

8.8

A way to fit a curved line that shows how two things change

A software bug that affects many parts after a code change

9.7

A way to predict one thing from another using a straight-line equation like y = ax + b

8.5

A very high or very low result usually comes before a result closer to the average

8.5

How much one number changes when another number goes up by one

regression curve
  • Specialized
6.4

A smooth line or curve fitted to data points to show how two things are related

regression equation
  • Specialized
7.8

A math formula that predicts one number from one or more other numbers

regression of y on x
  • Specialized
8.7

A method that predicts the value of y from x using numbers

simple regression
  • Specialized
6.1

A method that uses one number to predict another number

6.0

A method that finds how one value depends on others to predict that value

How Severe

collapse
350 4.1
reversal
25 4.2
relapse
33 6.5
regression
  • Specialized
17 7.6
setback
148 3.6

Surface Forms

regression singular
regressions plural

Morphology

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

If a learner knows the verb 'regress', the noun 'regression' is a standard and easily interpretable action or process noun.

Etymology

Regression comes from Latin parts re- 'back' and gress 'step', the same root you see in progress. A helpful way to remember it is to think of a 'step back'—in psychology or medicine a regression is when someone returns to an earlier, less developed stage.