regress

Definition of regress

Pronunciation: /rɪˈgrɛs/

1 [no object] return to a former or less developed state:they would not regress to pre-technological tribalism
return mentally to a former stage of life or a supposed previous life, especially through hypnosis: [no object]:she claims to be able to regress to the Roman era [with object]:I regressed Sylvia to early childhood

2 [with object] Statistics calculate the coefficient or coefficients of regression of (a variable) against or on another variable: a model in which C and Y are regressed on the same variables

Pronunciation: /ˈriːgrɛs/

[mass noun]

1the action of returning to a former or less developed state: the regress is a return to Puritan values [count noun]:a regress to the nursery

2 Philosophy a series of statements in which a logical procedure is continually reapplied to its own result without approaching a useful conclusion (e.g. defining something in terms of itself).

Origin:

late Middle English (as a noun): from Latin regressus, from regredi 'go back, return', from re- 'back' + gradi 'to walk'

Definition of regress in the US English dictionary