regress

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

noun the reasoning involved when you assume the conclusion is true and reason backward to the evidence
noun returning to a former state
verb go back to a statistical means

(verb) From Latin regressus, past participle of regredior (“to go back”), from re- (“back”) + gradior (“to go”). Doublet of regressus.

But this leads at once to an endless regress. — Mysticism and Logic and Other Essays, Bertrand Russell
But beyond that, there seems to be no further regress. — The Problems of Philosophy, Bertrand Russell
An important distinction, however, exists between the dynamical and the mathematical regress. — The Critique of Pure Reason, Immanuel Kant

reasoning backward

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