Hypertext Webster Gateway: "retrogression"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Retrogression \Re`tro*gres"sion\, n. [Cf. F. r['e]trogression.
See {Retrograde}, and cf. {Digression}.]
1. The act of retrograding, or going backward;
retrogradation.
2. (Biol.) Backward development; a passing from a higher to a
lower state of organization or structure, as when an
animal, approaching maturity, becomes less highly
organized than would be expected from its earlier stages
or known relationship. Called also {retrograde
development}, and {regressive metamorphism}.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
retrogression
n 1: passing from a more complex to a simpler biological form
[syn: {degeneration}]
2: returning to a former state [syn: {regression}, {regress}, {reversion},
{retroversion}]
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