Synonyms for backsliding

Most common

relapse · apostasy · reversion · lapsing · defection · recidivism · recreancy · retrogradation

All synonyms

Noun

Adjective

Definitions

1. n. 1

   An occasion on which one backslides, especially in a moral sense.

2. adj. 1

   sliding back

Related words

Phrases

democratic backsliding

Forms

Plural

backslidings → relapses, apostasies, lapses, lapsings…

Example sentences

• relapse I try to be calmer these days. That outburst was a relapse into my old behavior.
• apostasy Tom's apostasy will not go unpunished.
• defection My government continues to treat dissent as defection.
• recidivism The amount will go up in the case of recidivism.

Popularity over time

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

5 letters

lapse¹

7 letters

relapse², lapsing²

8 letters

renegade³, apostasy, apostate³, recreant

9 letters

defection³, reversion³, relapsing³, recreancy

10 letters

recidivism⁵, recidivous

14 letters

retrogradation

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (relapse² = 2 syllables).