Lapse

Noun

 * 1) A temporary failure; a slip.
 * 2) A decline or fall in standards.
 * 3) A pause in continuity.
 * 4) An interval of time between events.
 * 5) A termination of a right etc, through disuse or neglect.
 * 6) (weather) A marked decrease in air temperature with increasing altitude because the ground is warmer than the surrounding air. This condition usually occurs when skies are clear and between 1100 and 1600 hours, local time. Strong convection currents exist during lapse conditions. For chemical operations, the state is defined as unstable. This condition is normally considered the most unfavorable for the release of chemical agents. See lapse rate.
 * 7)  A common-law rule that if the person to whom property is willed were to die before the testator, then the gift would be ineffective.

Synonyms

 * blooper, blunder, boo-boo, defect, error, fault, faux pas, fluff, gaffe, mistake, slip, stumble, thinko

Derived terms

 * time-lapse


 * anti-lapse

Related terms

 * lapsarian

Verb

 * 1)  To fall away gradually; to subside
 * 2)  To fall into error or heresy
 * 3)  To become void

Adjectives for Lapse
careless; temporary; momentary; single; liquid; deplorable; smooth; strong; venial;occasional; incredible; atrocious; enormous; soothing; sad; moral; melancholy; abrupt.

Verbs for Lapse
attribute—to; dispel—; emerge from—; expose to—; fall into—; glide into—; recover from—; sink in—; slip into—; spend—; suffer—; vacate—; —avails; —decays; flow into—.

Thesaurus
abeyance, about-face, advance, alchemy, apostasy, apostatize, assimilation, assumption, atavism, atheism, atrocity, backing, backset, backslide, backsliding, backward deviation, backward motion, backward step, balk, be all over, be caught napping, be gone, be neglectful, be negligent, be no more, be past, become extinct, become void, becoming, bevue, blooper, blow over, blunder, boner, breach, break, bull, bungle, cadence, caesura, catabasis, catenary, cave, cave in, cease, cease-fire, cessation, change, change-over, close, closing, cock, collapse, comedown, continue, conversion, crash, crime, crime against humanity, culpa, culpable negligence, day off, deadly sin, debasement, decadence, decadency, deceleration, declension, declination, decline, decline and fall, decrescendo, decurrence, default, deformation, degeneracy, degenerate, degenerateness, degeneration, degradation, delinquency, demotion, depravation, depravedness, depreciation, dereliction, derogation, descend, descent, desertion, deteriorate, deterioration, deviate, devolution, die, die away, diminish, diminuendo, diminution, disappear, disenchantment, disregard, dive, downtrend, downturn, downward mobility, downward trend, droop, drop, dwindling, dying, ebb, effeteness, elapse, end, endure, enormity, err, error, evil, expire, fade, fading, fail, failing, failure, failure of nerve, fall, fall again into, fall astern, fall away, fall back, fall behind, fall from grace, fall into error, fall off, falling back, falling-off, false move, false step, fault, felony, flip-flop, flit, flop, flop down, flow, flow on, fluff, flump, flump down, fly, foible, founder, frailty, gap, genocide, get behind, give way, glide, gloss over, go amiss, go astray, go awry, go backwards, go behind, go by, go down, go downhill, go off, go on, go out, go wrong, goof, growth, guilty act, have a relapse, have it, have its time, have run out, heavy sin, hesitation, hiatus, hit a slump, hit rock bottom, hit the skids, hold-up, holiday, homestretch, ignore, impiety, impiousness, impropriety, inadvertence, inadvertency, inattention, indiscretion, inexpiable sin, iniquity, injury, injustice, interim, interlude, intermezzo, intermission, intermittence, interruption, interval, involution, irreligion, irreverence, jerk back, laches, lacuna, laissez-faire, lapse back, lapse from grace, lapsus calami, lapsus linguae, last, last lap, last round, last stage, laxity, laxness, layoff, let go, let ride, let slide, let slip, letup, loose thread, looseness, lose ground, lose sight of, lose track of, loss of tone, lower, lowering, lull, malefaction, malfeasance, malum, minor wrong, miscalculate, miscue, misdeed, misdemeanor, misfeasance, misstep, mistake, mortal sin, naturalization, neglect, neglectfulness, negligence, nod, nonfeasance, noninterference, nonperformance, nonrestriction, not care for, not get involved, not heed, not think, offense, omission, outrage, overlook, overlooking, oversight, pass, pass away, pass by, pass over, passage, pause, peccadillo, peccancy, permissiveness, plop, plop down, plump, plunge, poor stewardship, press on, proceed, procrastination, progress, pull back, re-formation, reach the depths, reaction, recede, recess, recession, recidivate, recidivation, recidivism, reclamation, reconversion, recreancy, recrudescence, recur to, recurrence, reduction, reentry, refluence, reflux, regress, regression, rehabilitation, reinstatement, relapse, remission, remissness, renewal, resolution, respite, rest, restitution, restoration, retreat, retroaction, retrocede, retrocession, retroflex, retroflexion, retrogradation, retrograde, retrogress, retrogression, retroversion, retrovert, retrusion, return, return to, returning, reversal, reverse, reversion, revert, revert to, reverting, revulsion, roll on, rollback, run, run down, run its course, run on, run out, sag, set, setback, settle, settle down, shift, shortcoming, sin, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful act, sink, sink back, sink down, sinkage, slackness, sleep, slide, slide back, slight, slip, slip away, slip back, slip up, slippage, slipping back, slipup, slouch, slowdown, slump, slump down, stand-down, stay, sternway, stop, stray, stumble, submerge, submergence, subside, subsidence, suspension, swag, switch, switch-over, take for granted, terminate, throwback, tort, touch bottom, transformation, transgression, transit, transition, trespass, trip, truce, turn, turnabout, turning into, undutifulness, unrigorousness, unutterable sin, vacation, venial sin, vice, violation, volte-face, wander, wane, wear away, wear off, wrong, wrong step, yield again to

Etymology
From laps, from  lapsus, from labi:.

Pronunciation

 * , {{SAMPA|/l{ps/}}

Noun

 * Catalan:
 * French: ,


 * Polish:, , potknięcie
 * Spanish:

Anagrams

 * leaps
 * pales
 * peals
 * pleas
 * salep
 * sepal