lapse

lapse  (lps)

v. lapsed, laps·ing, laps·es

v.intr.

1.

a. To fall from a previous level or standard, as of accomplishment, quality, or conduct: lapse into bad habits; a team that lapsed into mediocrity halfway through the season.

b. To deviate from a prescribed or accepted way: lapse into heresy.

c. To pass gradually or smoothly; slip: lapse into reverie.

2.

a. To come to an end, especially gradually or temporarily: He realized that his attention had lapsed and he hadn't heard the assignment.

b. To be no longer valid or active; expire: She allowed her membership to lapse after the first year.

3. Law To pass to another through neglect or omission. Used of a right or privilege, a benefice, or an estate.

4. To go by; elapse: Years had lapsed since we last met.

v.tr.

To allow to lapse.

n.

1. The act or an instance of lapsing, as:

a. A usually minor or temporary failure; a slip: a lapse of memory; a lapse in judgment.

b. A deterioration or decline: a lapse into barbarism.

c. A moral fall: a lapse from grace.

2. A break in continuity; a pause: a lapse in the conversation.

3. A period of time; an interval: a lapse of several years between the two revolutions.

4. Law The termination of a right or privilege through disuse, neglect, or death.

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[Middle English lapsen, to deviate from the normal, from laps, lapse of time, sin (from Old French, lapse of time, from Latin lpsus, from ) and from Latin lpsre, frequentative of lb, to lapse.]

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lapser n.

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lapse

Noun

1. a temporary drop in standard as a result of forgetfulness or lack of concentration

2. a moment or instance of bad behaviour, esp. by someone who is usually well-behaved

3. a period of time sufficient for a change to take place: the lapse between phone call and now

4. a gradual decline to a lower degree, condition, or state: its lapse from the tradition of Disraeli

5. Law the loss of some right by neglecting to exercise or renew it

Verb

[lapsing, lapsed]

1. to drop in standard or fail to maintain a standard

2. to decline gradually in status, condition, or degree

3. to allow to end or become no longer valid, esp. through negligence: a bid that lapsed last July

4. (usually foll. by into)to drift (into a condition): she appeared to lapse into a brief reverie

5. (often foll. by from)to turn away (from beliefs or standards)

6. (of time) to slip away [Latin lapsus error]

lapsed adj

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	lapse - a mistake resulting from inattention oversight error, fault, mistake - a wrong action attributable to bad judgment or ignorance or inattention; "he made a bad mistake"; "she was quick to point out my errors"; "I could understand his English in spite of his grammatical faults"
	2.	lapse - a break or intermission in the occurrence of something; "a lapse of three weeks between letters" pause, suspension, intermission, interruption, break - a time interval during which there is a temporary cessation of something
	3.	lapse - a failure to maintain a higher state backsliding, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reverting, reversion failure - an act that fails; "his failure to pass the test" recidivism - habitual relapse into crime
Verb	1.	lapse - pass into a specified state or condition; "He sank into nirvana" sink, pass move - go or proceed from one point to another; "the debate moved from family values to the economy"
	2.	lapse - end, at least for a long time; "The correspondence lapsed" end, cease, terminate, finish, stop - have an end, in a temporal, spatial, or quantitative sense; either spatial or metaphorical; "the bronchioles terminate in a capillary bed"; "Your rights stop where you infringe upon the rights of other"; "My property ends by the bushes"; "The symphony ends in a pianissimo"
	3.	lapse - drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards backslide drop away, fall away, slip, drop off - get worse; "My grades are slipping"
	4.	lapse - go back to bad behavior; "Those who recidivate are often minor criminals" recidivate, relapse, retrogress, regress, fall back retrovert, revert, turn back, regress, return - go back to a previous state; "We reverted to the old rules"
	5.	lapse - let slip; "He lapsed his membership" forfeit, give up, throw overboard, waive, forgo, forego - lose (s.th.) or lose the right to (s.th.) by some error, offense, or crime; "you've forfeited your right to name your successor"; "forfeited property"
	6.	lapse - pass by; "three years elapsed" elapse, glide by, go by, slide by, slip by, slip away, go along, pass advance, march on, move on, progress, pass on, go on - move forward, also in the metaphorical sense; "Time marches on" fell, vanish, fly - pass away rapidly; "Time flies like an arrow"; "Time fleeing beneath him"

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lapse

noun 1. decline, fall, drop, descent, deterioration, relapse, backsliding

noun 2. mistake, failing, fault, failure, error, slip, negligence, omission, oversight, indiscretion

noun 3. interval, break, gap, passage, pause, interruption, lull, breathing space, intermission

verb 4. slip, fall, decline, sink, drop, slide, deteriorate, degenerate

verb 5. end, stop, run out, expire, terminate, become obsolete, become void

Translations

lapse [læps] n (= fault) → error m; fallo;

(moral) → desliz m

vi (= expire) → caducar;

(morally) → cometer un desliz; [time] → pasar, transcurrir;

to lapse into bad habits → volver a las andadas;

lapse of time → lapso, período;

a lapse of memory → un lapsus de memoria

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lapse [læps] n → défaillance f;

(in behaviour) → écart m (de conduite)

vi (Law) → cesser d'être en vigueur; [contract] → expirer; [pass] → être périmé; [subscription] → prendre fin;

to lapse into bad habits → prendre de mauvaises habitudes;

lapse of time → laps m de temps, intervalle m;

a lapse of memory → un trou de mémoire

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lapse [læps] n (= bad behaviour) → Fehltritt m [of memory etc] → Schwäche f [of time] → Zeitspanne f

vi → ablaufen; [law] → ungültig werden;

to lapse into bad habits → in schlechte Gewohnheiten verfallen

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lapse [læps] n → lapsus m inv;

(longer) → caduta (= fault); mancanza;

(in behaviour) → scorrettezza

vi [law, act] → cadere; [ticket, passport] → scadere;

to lapse into bad habits → pigliare cattive abitudini;

lapse of time → spazio di tempo;

a lapse of memory → un vuoto di memoria