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lapse

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun lapse differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of lapse are blunder, error, mistake, and slip. While all these words mean "a departure from what is true, right, or proper," lapse stresses forgetfulness, weakness, or inattention as a cause.

a lapse in judgment

When might blunder be a better fit than lapse?

While in some cases nearly identical to lapse, blunder regularly imputes stupidity or ignorance as a cause and connotes some degree of blame.

diplomatic blunders

Where would error be a reasonable alternative to lapse?

Although the words error and lapse have much in common, error suggests the existence of a standard or guide and a straying from the right course through failure to make effective use of this.

procedural errors

In what contexts can mistake take the place of lapse?

In some situations, the words mistake and lapse are roughly equivalent. However, mistake implies misconception or inadvertence and usually expresses less criticism than error.

dialed the wrong number by mistake

When can slip be used instead of lapse?

The words slip and lapse can be used in similar contexts, but slip stresses inadvertence or accident and applies especially to trivial but embarrassing mistakes.

a slip of the tongue

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lapse
Noun
Ricardo Arroyo and Kendra Lara became the first incumbents to lose a primary in roughly four decades, after their own lapses, in September 2023. Gayla Cawley, Boston Herald, 5 May 2025 The Celtics did not have many lapses like that on their march to a title last season. Jay King, New York Times, 13 May 2025
Verb
Had my accent lapsed so much that divine intervention was required? Shauna Lyon, New Yorker, 9 May 2025 Such translations were paused earlier this month when the weather service’s contract with the AI company that provided them lapsed. Jade Walker, CNN Money, 25 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lapse
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lapse
Noun
  • Yet Vardy took his early setbacks and used them to become one of the most resilient players in history.
    Ciarán McArdle, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
  • By all accounts, there has been no setback in his return from the elbow inflammation that has sidelined him since mid-March.
    Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 May 2025
Noun
  • Playing in the first group, Wong birdied the second hole and made up for his lone mistake (a bogey on No. 3) with birdies at seven and 11 to maintain a slim lead.
    Steve Galluzzo, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
  • Maybe teams won’t make the mistake the Avalanche did and move Rantanen too soon.
    Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 22 May 2025
Noun
  • Those cessations in breathing are what constitutes apnea.
    Jeffrey Kluger, Time, 19 May 2025
  • In multiple rounds of diplomacy in 2014 and 2015, after Russia’s takeover of Crimea and incursion into Ukraine’s Donbas region, France and Germany expended more effort on a cosmetic cessation of hostilities than on solving the underlying problems of regional security.
    Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 1 May 2025
Verb
  • Means' Oregon medical license expired in 2019 and was moved to inactive in January 2024.
    Joey Garrison, USA Today, 23 May 2025
  • The Weather Service’s heat advisory for the Los Angeles area, which was expected to be in place through Thursday, expired at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
    Clara Harter, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025
Noun
  • The speed of that reversal underscores just how fast attitudes are changing.
    Tony Bradley, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
  • The new leadership brought about a radical shift in foreign policy towards a more pro-Islamic, anti-Western approach—and a reversal of its stance towards Israel.
    Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 21 May 2025
Noun
  • Only one major-league third baseman, the San Diego Padres’ Manny Machado, has more errors than Muncy’s eight through his first 49 games of the season.
    Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 27 May 2025
  • The poll of 1,136 Democrats carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.89 percentage points.
    Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025
Noun
  • That was after the pandemic lockdown brought concerts — and much of the world — shuddering to a halt in 2020 and much of 2021 (and before the COVID resurgence that followed).
    George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2025
  • Finding that the 1977 law Trump invoked to impose his sweeping tariffs does not actually give him the power to do so, the court ordered a permanent halt to the duties and barred any future modifications.
    Josephine Rozzelle, CNBC, 29 May 2025
Verb
  • The new legislation is the latest in a flurry of bills introduced by Democratic lawmakers aimed at ending the ability of presidents and members of Congress to own or oversee businesses that issue or promote crypto products.
    Michelle Conlin, USA Today, 23 May 2025
  • So long as Netanyahu refuses to go along with any of Trump’s grand diplomatic initiatives, which might require him to end the Gaza war or entertain some semblance of Palestinian statehood, Israel has nothing to give Trump other than symbolic trinkets.
    Yair Rosenberg, The Atlantic, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Lapse.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lapse. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.

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