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Regress (Verb)

Go back to a previous state; "We reverted to the old rules".

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..

The team regress to their old tactics when facing a strong opponent, which often results in a loss.
As the patient's condition worsened, the doctor noted that the tumor regress in response to the treatment temporarily only to come back stronger.
The child learned to walk at a young age but started to regress after a serious illness.
When faced with criticism, he tends to regress to his old habits of getting defensive and dismissive.
In times of stress, she would regress to her teenage years and rebel against authority figures.

Go back to a statistical means.

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..

Given time, extreme results often regress to the statistical mean as more data is collected.
The experiment's findings will likely regress to the predicted values once the anomaly is removed from the dataset.
This company's profits are expected to regress to the industry average as the market becomes increasingly competitive.
Since the initial observation period was so short, the results will likely regress closer to normal over a longer period.
In investments, it is common to see unusually high returns regress to the market average over the long term.

Go back to bad behavior; "Those who recidivate are often minor criminals".

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care.

After being released from rehab, she started to regress and sneak a drink or two whenever possible.
If he continues hanging out with the same crowd, he's likely to regress back into his old destructive habits.
His lack of self-control often causes him to regress to the same selfish behavior he's worked hard to change.
It's been a few months since he was released from prison, and he's starting to regress into his old ways of petty thievery.
A patient who hasn't implemented healthy coping mechanisms may regress into depression during stressful periods.

Get worse or fall back to a previous condition.

Verbs of size, temperature change, intensifying, etc..

The patient's condition began to regress after they stopped taking the prescribed medication.
If we don't address the issue, the economy will continue to regress and cause more problems for the country.
The company's sales started to regress after the new competitor entered the market.
After a period of rapid improvement, her language skills began to regress due to lack of practice.
As the treatment was ineffective, her mental health started to regress to the level it was at before the therapy began.