Lapsed

//læpst// adj, verb

adj, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    simple past and past participle of lapse form-of, participle, past
Adjective
  1. 1
    Discontinued; having ceased or gone out of use. not-comparable, usually

    "The royal charities on Maunday Thursday, are really a portion of an otherwise lapsed custom, which recalled the action of our Lord on the day before His Crucifixion."

  2. 2
    Changed to a less valued condition or state; especially having lost one's religious faith. not-comparable, usually

    "...satisfy the Doubtful, confirm the Wavering, recover the Lapsed, and be useful to all according to their several Circumstances and Conditions."

  3. 3
    By extension, having changed a (secular) belief or adherence. humorous, not-comparable, usually

    "My mother knew that I was a lapsed Republican, but did not dream of the depth to which I had fallen."

  4. 4
    Having passed from the original holder or authority; no longer claimed. archaic, not-comparable, usually

    "The only legitimate claimants must be, Albert of Austria, son of the sister of the last duke John; and the emperor Sigsmund, who might consider this part of Bavaria as a lapsed fief: that in this quality he had given the investiture of it to his son-in-law"

Adjective
  1. 1
    no longer active or practicing wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
expiredadamicagoanimalanimalisticantiquated

Example

More examples

"He lapsed into despair after that accident."

More for "lapsed"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.