regressive

American  

[ri-gres-iv] / rɪˈgrɛs ɪv /

adjective

1. regressing or tending to regress; retrogressive.

2. Biology. of, relating to, or effecting regression.

3. (of tax) decreasing proportionately with an increase in the tax base.

4. Logic. obtained from or characterized by backward reasoning.

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Other Word Forms

• nonregressive adjective
• nonregressively adverb
• regressively adverb
• regressiveness noun
• regressivity noun
• unregressive adjective
• unregressively adverb
• unregressiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of regressive

First recorded in 1625–35; regress + -ive

Example Sentences

The U.S. tax and transfer system—referring to government payments made to low-income taxpayers—is “highly progressive,” and although states generally have more regressive tax systems, they have more generous distribution programs, Walczak says.

From Barron's

The draft law reduces severance pay, allows payments in kind and restricts vacation usage, among other proposals that the General Confederation of Labor considers "regressive."

From Barron's

As women increasingly assert their right to choose their partners, Srivastava adds, they often encounter resistance from what she describes as "a deeply regressive social system".

From BBC

It highlighted societal changes in Saudi Arabia that allowed edgy American comedians to perform in a country long dismissed as irredeemably puritanical and regressive.

From The Wall Street Journal

This contrast is a good deal more dramatically compelling than the somewhat overwrought psychological drama that exerts a regressive pull on “anthropology.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• archconservative
• counterrevolutionary
• rightist
• ultraconservative