lapsed en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
- /læpst/
Meanings
-
(not-comparable, usually) Discontinued; having ceased or gone out of use.
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.
1895, William Andrews, Curious Church Customs and Cognate Subjects, Hull: Hull Press, →OCLC, page 30:
-
(not-comparable, of a person, usually) Changed to a less valued condition or state; especially having lost one's religious faith.
...satisfy the Doubtful, confirm the Wavering, recover the Lapsed, and be useful to all according to their several Circumstances and Conditions.
1726, John Ayliffe, Parergon Juris Canonici Anglicani, London: Printed for the Author by D. Leach, →OCLC, page 465:One of them is a lapsed Catholic; the other is in no doubt of what to do, as he has suffered much on account of his adherence to Christianity.
1821, Annual Report of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, Boston, →OCLC, page 14:
-
(humorous, not-comparable, usually) By extension, having changed a (secular) belief or adherence.
My mother knew that I was a lapsed Republican, but did not dream of the depth to which I had fallen.
1981, Jessamyn West, Double Discovery: A Journey, G.K. Hall, →ISBN:
-
(archaic, not-comparable, of a legacy, usually) Having passed from the original holder or authority; no longer claimed.
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
1789, Jean-Charles Laveaux, The Life of Frederick the Second, King of Prussia, London: J. Derbett, →OCLC, page 143:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| more lapsed | Degree=Cmp | lexicographic | |
| most lapsed | Degree=Sup | lexicographic |
Antonyms
practicing (antonym(s) of “having lost one's religious faith”) · devout (antonym(s) of “having lost one's religious faith”)
Deriveds
unlapsed · lapsedness · semilapsed
Synonyms
nonpracticing (having lost one's religious faith) · in name (having changed a secular belief or adherence)