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lapse

lapse

81 4.9
A short pause or mistake caused by losing attention
  • noun
  • /læps/
: lapso
  • Mcdermott's lawyers blamed his lapse in judgement on alcohol, depression and family problems.
  • a momentary lapse
  • memory lapse
  • security lapses

This is a man who had a one moment lapse of judgement.

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Examples

  • I just had a lapse in judgment.

  • Don't ever have a concentration lapse like that again, OK?

  • A single lapse of security and he could face the death penalty.

  • This is a man who had a one moment lapse of judgement.

  • I mean, it was just a lapse in judgement.

  • OK, next I am going to put this down to a very temporarily lapse in judgement on my part.

  • Jax, I'd like to talk to you about your lapse of judgment.

  • The report of my neuropsychological evaluation noted every lapse of concentration I had.

    Academic text (1996)
  • A year or two passed, and his memory lapses became more noticeable.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • His decision to skip the meeting was a lapse in judgment that cost him a promotion.

Synonyms

pause
vslapse
192 1.0

A short stop in speaking or activity

often means an accidental mistake or brief failure from losing attention not just a stop
oversight
vslapse
30 4.7

A small mistake that someone does not notice

also covers short breaks in attention or brief failures not only missed items
slip-up
vslapse
13 3.7

A small careless mistake you make by accident

is often a broader temporary mistake or brief stop caused by loss of attention

Antonyms

794 3.5

Close attention to one subject or activity

52 4.7

A situation where things stay the same or keep happening without big changes

How Serious

failure
557 1.3
blunder
49 3.0
mistake
∞ 1.0
lapse
81 4.9
slip
79 1.6

Surface Forms

lapse singular
lapsing plural
lapses plural

Etymology

Lapse comes from the Latin verb labi, which means 'to slip' or 'fall'. So a lapse (as a noun) is like a small 'slip' — a short mistake or pause in attention.