lapse

Noun

• a failure to maintain a higher state

• a break or intermission in the occurrence of something
  • a lapse of three weeks between letters
    

• a mistake resulting from inattention

Verb

• pass by
  • three years elapsed
    

• let slip
  • He lapsed his membership
    

• go back to bad behavior
  • Those who recidivate are often minor criminals
    

• drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards

• end, at least for a long time
  • The correspondence lapsed
    

• pass into a specified state or condition
  • He sank into nirvana
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  backsliding , lapsing , relapse , relapsing , reversion , reverting , oversight , elapse , pass , slip by , glide by , slip away , go by , slide by , go along , recidivate , regress , retrogress , fall back , backslide , sink