regressivePronunciation: /rɪˈgrɛsɪv/Translate regressive | into Italian Definition of regressive adjective 1returning to a former or less developed state; characterized by regression:regressive aspects of recent local government reform relating to or marked by psychological regression: a regressive personality 2(of a tax) taking a proportionally greater amount from those on lower incomes: indirect taxes are, as a group, regressive 3 Philosophy proceeding from effect to cause or from particular to universal. Derivatives regressively adverb regressiveness noun regressive in other Oxford dictionaries Definition of regressive in the US English dictionary