regression

[ri-gresh-uh n] /rɪˈgrɛʃ ən/
noun
1.
the act of going back to a previous place or state; return or reversion.
2.
retrogradation; retrogression.
3.
Biology. reversion to an earlier or less advanced state or form or to a common or general type.
4.
Psychoanalysis. the reversion to a chronologically earlier or less adapted pattern of behavior and feeling.
5.
a subsidence of a disease or its manifestations:
a regression of symptoms.
adjective
6.
of, pertaining to, or determined by regression analysis:
regression curve; regression equation.
Origin
1510-20; < Latin regressiōn- (stem of regressiō). See regress, -ion
Related forms
nonregression, noun
Examples from the web for regression
  • Linear regression revealed a positive correlation in amygdala size with both social network size and complexity.
  • The best explanation of this result is regression to the mean.
  • But he will be thinking about what she is thinking, leading to an infinite regression.
  • Infinite regression, circular reasoning, reduction to absurdity.
  • Infinite regression, circular reasoning and absurdity.
  • Researchers didn't know why-perhaps regression to the mean, they suggested.
  • Wise, yes, but it is after this role that this progression of roles actually diverges into a regression of roles.
  • Instead, it's a kind of implicit regression based on all the stories a publication has produced.
  • But multiple regression does not provide grounds for causal attribution, any more than bivariate correlation does.
  • The difference allows them to run a regression to see how much the extra military spending boosted the economy.
British Dictionary definitions for regression

regression

/rɪˈɡrɛʃən/
noun
1.
(psychol) the adoption by an adult or adolescent of behaviour more appropriate to a child, esp as a defence mechanism to avoid anxiety
2.
(statistics)
  1. the analysis or measure of the association between one variable (the dependent variable) and one or more other variables (the independent variables), usually formulated in an equation in which the independent variables have parametric coefficients, which may enable future values of the dependent variable to be predicted
  2. (as modifer): regression curve
3.
(astronomy) the slow movement around the ecliptic of the two points at which the moon's orbit intersects the ecliptic. One complete revolution occurs about every 19 years
4.
(geology) the retreat of the sea from the land
5.
the act of regressing
Word Origin and History for regression
n.

early 15c., from Latin regressionem (nominative regressio) "a going back, a return," noun of action from past participle stem of regredi (see regress (n.)).

regression in Medicine

regression re·gres·sion (rĭ-grěsh'ən)
n.

  1. A subsidence of the symptoms of a disease.

  2. A relapse of symptoms.

  3. Reversion to an earlier or less mature pattern of feeling or behavior.

  4. Relapse to a less perfect or developed state.

  5. The return of a population to an earlier or less complex physical type in successive generations.

  6. The relationship between the mean value of a random variable and the corresponding values of one or more independent variables.

regression in Science
regression
  (rĭ-grěsh'ən)   

  1. A subsiding of the symptoms or process of a disease.

  2. The return of a population to an earlier or less complex physical type in successive generations.

  3. The relationship between the mean value of a random variable and the corresponding values of one or more independent variables.

  4. A relative fall in sea level resulting in deposition of terrestrial strata over marine strata. Compare transgression.

  5. Retrograde motion of a celestial body.


regression in Culture

regression definition


A Freudian concept used by psychiatrists to signify a return to primitive or impulsive behavior after more mature behavior has been learned. (See also defense mechanism, id, and libido.)

regression in Technology

1. A mathematical method where an empirical function is derived from a set of experimental data.
2. regression testing.
(1995-03-14)