regress
gb/ɹˈiɡɹɛs/ us/ɹˈiɡɹɛs/
C1
English
visszaesik, visszafejlődik, egy korábbi fejlődési szintre visszatér, regresszióval elemez, regresszál, romlik, elront, visszalépés, visszaesés
VERB
C1
FORMAL
1
visszaesik
B2
Usage pattern:
[someone/something] regresses; regress to/into [a state]
After several months of improvement, his reading skills began to regress.
Több hónapnyi javulás után az olvasási készségei ismét visszaesni kezdtek.
Without stronger institutions, the country could regress into authoritarian rule.
Erősebb intézmények nélkül az ország visszacsúszhatna az autoriter uralomba.
Under pressure, the organization regressed to its old ways of working.
Learner examples
The team improved at first, but then it regressed.
A csapat eleinte javult, de aztán visszaesett.
We do not want the project to regress.
Nem akarjuk, hogy a projekt visszaessen.
Common mistake:
Do not use regress for simply returning to a physical place; it usually means going backward in quality, development, or condition.
Meaning
return to a worse state
Collocations
begin to regress
|start to regress
|regress badly
|regress to an earlier stage
|regress to old habits
|regress into chaos
|regress into authoritarianism
|socially regress
Synonyms
deteriorate (emphasizes getting worse, not necessarily returning to an earlier state)
|
backslide (often used for returning to bad habits or lower standards)
|
revert (means return to a previous state, without always implying that it is worse)
Antonyms
progress (move forward or improve rather than go backward)
|
improve (become better rather than worse)
|
develop (grow or advance rather than return to an earlier stage)
Themes
change
|problems
|society
|development
Definition
to go back to an earlier or worse state
To return to an earlier, less advanced, or worse condition after progress has been made.
VERB
C1
2
Usage pattern:
[someone] regresses; regress to [earlier behavior]
After the baby was born, their three-year-old regressed and started asking for a bottle again.
Miután megszületett a baba, a hároméves gyerek visszaesett, és újra cumisüveget kezdett kérni.
Some adults regress to familiar coping patterns when they feel unsafe.
Néhány felnőtt, amikor nem érzi magát biztonságban, visszatér a megszokott megküzdési mintákhoz.
Therapy helped him notice when he was regressing under stress.
Learner examples
The child regressed after the move.
A gyerek a költözés után visszaesett.
When he is scared, he sometimes regresses.
Amikor megijed, néha visszaesik.
Common mistake:
In this meaning, regress is usually intransitive: a child regresses. Do not say regress a child unless you mean that someone deliberately causes a regression, as in therapy or hypnosis.
Meaning
revert to younger behavior
Collocations
emotionally regress
|regress under stress
|regress to baby talk
|regress after a trauma
|regress after a new sibling
|developmentally regress
|seem to regress
Synonyms
revert (more general; can describe any return to an earlier way of behaving)
|
act younger (plain, informal wording for the behavioral idea)
|
backslide (suggests slipping back into less mature or less healthy behavior)
Antonyms
mature (develop more adult or controlled behavior)
|
cope (manage stress without returning to earlier behavior)
|
develop (move forward to a later stage of growth)
Themes
psychology
|behavior
|children
|emotions
|health
Definition
to start behaving in a younger or less mature way again
To return to behavior or emotions typical of an earlier stage of development, often because of stress, illness, or a major life change.
VERB
C1
TECHNICAL
3
Usage pattern:
[a tumor/disease/symptom/lesion] regresses
The lesions usually regress within a few weeks.
Az elváltozások általában néhány héten belül visszafejlődnek.
In rare cases, the tumor may regress without treatment.
Ritka esetekben a daganat kezelés nélkül is visszafejlődhet.
Her symptoms regressed after the medication was changed.
Learner examples
The rash regressed after treatment.
A kiütés a kezelés után visszahúzódott.
Doctors hope the tumor will regress.
Az orvosok remélik, hogy a daganat visszafejlődik.
Common mistake:
In medical use, regress is usually positive: the condition improves. Compare this with a patient regressing, which can mean the patient gets worse.
Meaning
shrink or become less severe
Collocations
a tumor regresses
|a lesion regresses
|symptoms regress
|spontaneously regress
|regress completely
|regress after treatment
|gradually regress
Synonyms
subside (common for symptoms becoming weaker or less intense)
|
recede (suggests moving back or becoming less prominent)
|
resolve (medical word meaning disappear or clear up)
Antonyms
progress (in medical contexts, means become more advanced or severe)
|
worsen (become more severe rather than less severe)
|
spread (for a disease or cancer, extend to more areas rather than shrink)
Themes
medicine
|health
|disease
Definition
for a medical problem to get smaller or less serious
For a disease, tumor, symptom, or lesion, to become smaller, less severe, or less active.
VERB
C1
TECHNICAL
4
Usage pattern:
regress [dependent variable] on/against [independent variable(s)]
The researcher regressed wages on education, age, and region.
A kutató regresszióval elemezte a béreket az iskolázottság, az életkor és a régió alapján.
We regressed customer spending against the number of visits to the site.
A vevők költését regresszióval elemeztük az oldal látogatásainak száma alapján.
Before drawing conclusions, the team regressed the outcome on several control variables.
Learner examples
They regressed income on years of education.
A jövedelmet regresszióval elemezték az iskolában töltött évek alapján.
The analyst regressed sales against price.
Az elemző regresszióval vizsgálta az eladásokat az ár függvényében.
Common mistake:
In statistics, the usual pattern is regress Y on X: Y is the outcome being modeled, and X is the predictor or predictors.
Meaning
fit a regression model
Collocations
regress Y on X
|regress wages on education
|regress sales against ad spending
|regress the outcome on predictors
|regress the dependent variable
|regress with controls
|linearly regress
Synonyms
model (broader; does not necessarily specify regression)
|
fit (often means estimate a statistical model from data)
|
run a regression (common informal phrase for performing regression analysis)
Themes
statistics
|data
|research
|economics
|science
Definition
to use a statistical method to study how one variable is related to others
To analyze data by modeling one variable as a function of one or more other variables using regression analysis.
VERB
C1
TECHNICAL
5
Usage pattern:
[a change/version] regresses [a feature/performance]; [a feature/test] regresses
The new release fixed the crash but regressed performance on older phones.
Az új kiadás kijavította az összeomlást, de a régebbi telefonokon rontotta a teljesítményt.
Please add a test so we do not regress this feature again.
Kérlek, adj hozzá egy tesztet, hogy ne rontsuk el újra ezt a funkciót.
Startup time regressed after the latest build.
Learner examples
The update regressed the app's performance.
A frissítés rontotta az alkalmazás teljesítményét.
A test can show if the feature regressed.
Egy teszt megmutathatja, hogy romlott-e a funkció működése.
Common mistake:
This is developer language. In everyday English, say made it worse, broke it again, or caused a new bug.
Meaning
break after a software change
Collocations
regress performance
|regress a feature
|regress functionality
|regress startup time
|avoid regressing tests
|the build regressed
|a recent change regressed
Synonyms
break (informal developer word for causing software to stop working correctly)
|
degrade (often refers to worse performance or quality)
|
reintroduce a bug (more specific; means bring back a problem that had been fixed)
Antonyms
fix (remove a problem rather than bring it back)
|
improve (make performance or quality better rather than worse)
|
stabilize (make the software more reliable rather than less reliable)
Themes
software
|technology
|programming
|testing
Definition
for software to become worse again after a change, or for a change to make it worse
In software development, to become worse or cause something to become worse after a change, especially by reintroducing a bug or reducing performance.
NOUN
C2
FORMAL
6
visszalépés
B2
visszaesés
B2
Usage pattern:
a regress; a regress to/into/from [a state]
Critics called the law a serious regress for civil rights.
A bírálók a törvényt a polgári jogok szempontjából súlyos visszalépésnek nevezték.
The report describes the policy as a regress from earlier reforms.
A jelentés a politikát a korábbi reformokhoz képest visszalépésként írja le.
The abrupt regress into old habits surprised the coach.
Learner examples
The change was a regress, not an improvement.
A változás visszalépés volt, nem javulás.
They feared a regress from democracy.
A demokráciától való visszalépéstől tartottak.
Common mistake:
The noun regression is much more common than a regress in everyday and technical use.
Meaning
a backward return
Collocations
a serious regress
|a dangerous regress
|social regress
|political regress
|moral regress
|mark a regress
|prevent a regress
|a regress from reform
Synonyms
backsliding (suggests slipping back into bad habits or lower standards)
|
retrogression (very formal word for backward movement or decline)
|
setback (more common; means a problem that delays or reverses progress)
Antonyms
progress (forward movement or improvement)
|
advance (a positive step forward)
|
improvement (a change for the better)
Themes
change
|society
|politics
|development
Definition
a change back to an earlier or worse condition
A return to an earlier, less developed, or less satisfactory condition; an instance of going backward rather than improving.
Grammar
Dictionary form
regress
IPA
GB/ɹˈiɡɹɛs/
US/ɹˈiɡɹɛs/
Syllables & stress
re - gress (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (re)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: regress
- Plural: regress
Verb
- Base: regress
- 3rd Person Singular: regresses
- Present Participle: regressing
- Past: regressed
Expressions
infinite regress
1/ˈɪnfɪnɪt ɹˈiɡɹɛs/
fixed phrase
formal
endless chain of explanations
In philosophy or logic, a situation where each reason or cause needs another reason or cause before it, and this chain never ends.
Examples
- The argument fails because it leads to an infinite regress.
- Philosophers try to avoid an infinite regress when explaining knowledge.
- Positing a cause for every cause would create an infinite regress.
infinite regress
1/ˈɪnfɪnɪt ɹˈiɡɹɛs/
fixed phrase
formal
endless chain of explanation
a chain of answers or causes that goes back forever and never reaches a final explanation
Examples
- If every rule needs another rule to justify it, the argument falls into an infinite regress.
- The question "Who created the creator?" is often used to illustrate an infinite regress.
- She rejected the theory because it seemed to produce an infinite regress of causes.
Learner examples
- The explanation cannot need another explanation forever; that is an infinite regress.
regress to the mean
1/ɹˈiɡɹɛs tə ðə mˈin/
fixed phrase
technical
move back toward average
to return toward a normal or average level after an unusually high or low result
Examples
- After an unusually successful quarter, sales regressed to the mean.
- Extreme survey scores often regress to the mean when the measurement is repeated.
- Teams that win many close games often regress to the mean the next season.
Learner examples
- His score was very high once, then it regressed to the mean.
- The team's results regressed to the mean.