regress to

regress to (something)

1. To return to some earlier state or point of development. It's not uncommon for victims of such trauma to regress to a childlike state as an emotional defense mechanism. I try to keep a fairly neutral accent, but I regress to a real southern twang whenever I get nervous.
2. To move or recede backward to some point. The ice on the lake began regressing to the shoreline as the temperatures continued to rise.
3. To move from a more extreme position back toward the statistical mean. Random variables will almost always regress to the mean if you have a large enough sample size.
See also: regress, to
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

regress to something

to go back to an earlier, probably simpler, state; to go back to a more primitive state. Bob claimed that Gerald's behavior was regressing to that of a three-year-old. I tend to regress to my college ways when I am out with the guys.
See also: regress, to
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
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References in periodicals archive ?
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, June 6, 2013--Scientists here have discovered that they can make embryonic stem cells regress to a stage of development where they are able to make placenta cells as well as the other fetal cells.
Matthew Clark, 39, and sibling Michael, 42, from Hull, have a brain disease which has caused them to regress to a childlike state forcing them to move back in with their parents so they can receive the daily care they need.
Utter kiddie perfection, animation firm Cosgrove-Hall's finest moment has, even now, the innate ability to cause all who watch it to regress to a more innocent and happy time with just the opening bars of its theme tune.
For example, these studies pointed out that many groups pass through, regress to, or get stuck in identifiable developmental stages.
-- Most abnormal cervical cytology in adolescent women will be low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, and it will regress to normal by the follow-up exam, Andrea Wininger, M.D., reported at the annual meeting of the South Atlantic Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
-- Most abnormal cervical cytology in adolescent women will be low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, and will regress to normal by the follow-up exam, Andrea Wininger, M.D., said at the annual meeting of the South Atlantic Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
REGRESS to the age of innocence, and enjoy "good wholesome family entertainment" for a Saturday night at Garlands.
It is too easy to regress to a bottom line orientation, especially in times of stress.
There are lots of examples of other tissues that regress to save energy and get built up in response to a particular need."
It may be that the great truth of finance and investment abides: namely, that all things in time regress to the mean.
The star speaks of how the crash caused a brain injury which saw him regress to a childlike state and left him in excruciating pain.
Am I the only person who feels he has to regress to infancy?
Rather than face the issue, the person becomes dependent on someone or on something or may regress to an earlier stage of development.
While the monarchy make furious attempts to modernise, the Wessexes regress to a bygone age when only women did laundry.
Women should not feel licensed to regress to vacuum-cleaner mores any more than men should be able to devolve into patronizing cads.