1A brief or temporary failure of concentration, memory, or judgement.

第二局时她因一时走神而输掉了比赛。

1. 1.1 A decline from previously high standards.
   （因意志不坚定或不慎而）堕落
   tracing his lapse into petty crime

   追踪他小打小闹地作奸犯科的缘由。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • As I described in my in my previous article, many ethical lapses over the past century have been the result of placing the good of society before the good of the individual.
   • A general correlation between an agent's lapse from virtue and her decline from flourishing is enough for some purposes.
   • The report found ‘serious lapses in standards’ in relation to Mr X's dignity and respect in being left on a corridor for a lengthy period in just his vest and pyjama bottoms.
   • Coun Reid said she regretted agreeing to be part of the experiment and apologised for ‘the lapse in my usual high standards’.
   • At the time, the council said the lapse in cleaning standards had been a ‘one-off’ caused by staff shortages among the contractors.
   • Can some impairments, such as ethical lapses, be addressed successfully via coursework?
   • And considering some of the lapses of good taste I've woken up next to in the past eight or so years, I think that's a pretty good effort.
   • Julie Bishop argues its easier for Labor to raise such lapses in standards because of the checks the Government has put in place.
   • There also seems to be a reluctance to subject judges to the vigorous criticism to which other public figures are exposed for comparable lapses from proper standards of reasoning.
   • To correct spiritual lapses and moral decline of such nations, Allah raises a messenger from among the poor and the abject to guide and to warn the great and the powerful.
   • Mohammed got away with it, the indignation among a few of his followers at this lapse from orthodoxy remaining brief and inconsequential.
   • We hold it to a very high standard, are quick to bemoan its lapses, critique it almost as a public sport.
   • But Hewson from Sydney benefited from a lapse in standards by Doyle in the second set and got back to 4-4.
   • Look on the bright side; I've already written up my side of events, putting my hands up to the lapse in my usual high standards.
   • With such a high media profile, it's remarkable how little attention is paid to Will's double standards, ethical lapses and misstatements.
   • Around the world, cities with private water-management companies have been plagued by lapses in service, soaring costs, and corruption.
   • Despite the stressful transition, she was also happy to tell me that she had not used marijuana since her single lapse after leaving treatment.
   • It was a shocking lapse from the usually solid stopper and completely knocked the wind out of City's sails.
   • There was a period when that would have been considered an admirable glimpse of wounded pride over a lapse in standards, but now it looks like a symptom of frustration and mediocrity.
   • ‘I apologise for this misjudgement and the lapse in my usually high standards,’ said Councillor Reid.

   Synonyms

   decline, downturn, fall, falling, falling away, slipping, drop, deterioration, worsening, degeneration, dereliction, backsliding, regression, retrogression, decay, descent, sinking, slide, ebb, waning, corruption, debasement, tainting, corrosion, impairment
2. 1.2Law The termination of a right or privilege through disuse or failure to follow appropriate procedures.
   〔律〕（权利，特权的）终止；丧失
   Example sentencesExamples

   • If there has been a ‘merely’ procedural lapse or omission, it may be straightforward to envisage what the course of events would have been if procedures had stayed on track.
   • The point is that there will be all sorts of lapses on the part of solicitors which amount to professional misconduct.
   • It is not there to punish prosecutors for administrative lapses; it is there to protect defendants by ensuring that they are kept in prison awaiting trial no longer than is justifiable.
   • It was accepted by the respondent that his managerial performance exhibited regrettable lapses and the tribunal can only wholeheartedly agree.
   • So far as they clearly thought this was a serious lapse which they describe as the Appellant abandoning his patient when her condition was still serious, their Lordships entirely agree.

2An interval or passage of time.

两次事件之间有一段相当长的间隔。

1(of a right, privilege, or agreement) become invalid because it is not used, claimed, or renewed; expire.

他中止了自己的核裁军运动成员的身份。

1. 1.1 (of a state or activity) fail to be maintained; come to an end.
   （状态，活动）中止，结束
   if your diet has lapsed it's time you revived it

   如果你已停止节食，现在就应该恢复。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • But the real question is this: which projects get priority, and which are left to lapse?
   • His closest friends had no time for biblical Christianity, his church attendance lapsed, and his work became increasingly secular, including writing for the theatre.
   • Their age and mere existence confer legitimacy, and sometimes inspire campaigns to revive traditions that are lapsing.
   • He was managing to make a few jokes, but the conversation lapsed, anyway, as everyone was looking forward to the shifting time.
   • With all the organisation involved, my training has lapsed slightly.
   • But getting through London in the rush hour was always a deterrent and my martial arts practice lapsed.
   • Interest in family, work, and daily activities can lapse.
   • The conversation lapsed and Bluemud took a large sip of tea while he had the chance.
   • He can make dazzling plays, but his concentration can lapse on routine pickups and throws.
   • It was traditionally served in a copper mug, though that practice has lapsed.
   • Smith's own concentration lapsed as the fourth official failed to produce the board to enable the introduction of Craig Beattie and perhaps, in looking across, so did that of his defenders.

   Synonyms

   end, cease, come to an end, stop, terminate, vanish, disappear, pass, fade, fall away, dwindle, wilt, wither, die
2. 1.2 Cease to follow the rules and practices of a religion or doctrine.
   （宗教或学说的追随者）背离，放弃
   many Christians in Britain have lapsed

   Example sentencesExamples

   • The liberal church conducts more than five weddings a week, mainly of lapsed Catholics turned off by their religion's stony outlook.
   • And, in this place of judgement, love is its own lapsed religion, it feeds off of faith rather than rational thought.
   • But isn't that a bit like saying that as a lapsed Catholic who then started practising Satanism, say, then even as you were attempting to summon the Goat of Mendes, there'd be a part of you thinking about the faith you grew up in?
   • See I knew you were, listen, lapsed Catholics are the aristocracy of the earth.
   • One of his friends was quoted as observing that Reid might not like to hear it but he is a lapsed Catholic, a man who would never let religion get in the way of his politics.
   • Frederick, a bisexual misanthrope in a childless, political marriage, was a lapsed Calvinist who held all religions in contempt.
   • I have thought of myself as a lapsed Jew for these past few years, avoiding religion and religiosity.
   • I am a young thirty-something practicing Catholic engaged to be married to a young thirty-something lapsed Catholic.
   • My mother is a lapsed French Catholic, but my father is a committed Protestant.
   • Don't get me wrong, I'm barely religious - I've gone from being a lapsed Catholic to a tortured agnostic, and I bet the ride's not finished yet.
   • And the third, a lapsed neopagan, revived her religious practice online and was the only one of the three who stayed there.
   • An open invitation has been issued to Catholics of all ages, both practising and lapsed, to take part in the consultation forum in the Woodland's Hotel next Wednesday night, March 10.
   • His resistance stemmed from his feelings about religion; raised by lapsed Lutherans, he considers himself an agnostic.
   • The ultimate message seems to be that in a world of lapsed religious faith and an uncertain political landscape, love is the only ideology worth fighting for.

   Synonyms

   non-practising, lacking faith, backsliding, recidivist, apostate

   formal quondam

2lapse intoPass gradually into (an inferior state or condition)

该国已陷入混乱状态。

1. 2.1 Revert to (a previous or more familiar style of speaking or behaviour)
   回复（先前或习惯的言语或行为方式）
   the girls lapsed into French

   姑娘们又改说她们习惯的法语了。

   Example sentencesExamples

   • False notes are struck - stupid, kick-yourself-later comments are delivered - and I eventually lapse into dumbstruck, simpering silence, longing for the encounter to be over.
   • Carl said nothing and Thomas, apparently exhausted from the effort of speaking lapsed into silence for a long time.
   • Last month the forecaster broke cover by briefly lapsing into English.
   • But in the back seat, the two passengers have lapsed into a brooding silence.
   • They lapsed into a familiar, comfortable lull.
   • She lapsed into silence, simply observing the kid.
   • The new blood will also help encourage a feeling of formality, the people who already know each other will be on their best behavior, and will be less likely to lapse into old familiar jokes and the same old boring conversation.
   • She said it harshly and in anger, and then lapsed into infuriated silence.
   • He lapses into a long silence and lets Goodman talk about the marble on the bar and the wood used in the construction.
   • Training of grass-roots leaders is one thing, but in order to avoid a lapse into traditional authoritarian styles, more is needed.
   • In her annoyance she lapsed into the way of speaking from home.
   • Now, Simon is lapsing into Hollywood speak to say he didn't do anything wrong.
   • Again everyone lapsed into a thoughtful silence.
   • ‘Sorry’ Pete muttered nervously before lapsing into silence.
   • ‘My thanks,’ I told him, lapsing into a reflective silence.
   • He lapsed into silence, returning his attention back to the papers.
   • If you go at it too hard you can end up feeling empty, because there's almost nowhere further to take it rather than again lapsing into the familiar partisan clichés.
   • All she managed to get out was, ‘Second time in line,’ before she lapsed into a twitchy silence clutching a copy of some video game to her chest.
   • Jean-Claude, our Breton steward, is a former submariner, merchant seaman and hotelier, and his charming character - occasionally lapsing into French as he discusses the menu - certainly helps on that score.
   • So, eventually, things lapsed into their previous state, with the sole difference being we put more effort into hiding our relationship.

   Synonyms

   revert, relapse, fall back

   drift, slide, slip, sink, subside