lapse
Brief mental blank
A lapse is a temporary failure or slip—a momentary falling away from a standard.
A lapse in judgment, a lapse in concentration, a memory lapse.
The word implies something brief rather than permanent: a lapse into old habits.
Time lapses when it passes, especially unnoticed: Several months lapsed before we spoke again.
A lapsed membership or lapsed Catholic has expired or fallen away through inaction.
In law, rights or offers lapse when they're no longer valid.
Fault in communication
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- slipMinor error or misstep
- misstepError in action or judgment
fault · gaffe · faux pas · fumble · bungle · misjudgment · miscalculation · flub
Unfilled space between
- pauseTemporary cessation of activity
- breakInterrupt continuity
- hiatusBreak in activity
- intermissionScheduled performance pause
interlude · interruption · respite · suspension · gap · passage · stretch · span
Act of ending something
- expiryEnd of validity
- endingFinal portion of something
- cessationA full stopping
- voidingNullifying or emptying
invalidation · discontinuation · cancellation · forfeiture · nullification · conclusion · deadline · renewal
Process of declining quality
- backslidingReverting to former sins
- regressionReturn to former state
- slippingLosing footing unintentionally
- downturnEconomic decline period
worsening · degradation · degeneration · falling-off · weakening · decay · erosion · slide
Failure to retain information
- amnesiaPathological loss of recall
- oblivionComplete erasure from memory
- blankWithout marks or content
- blackoutComplete power loss
absentmindedness · forgetting · haziness · blankness · disremember
error
Fault in communication
- blunderFoolish, costly mistake
- oversightSupervision or inadvertent omission
- slipMinor error or misstep
misstep · fault · gaffe · faux pas · fumble · bungle · misjudgment · miscalculation · flub · stumble
gap
Unfilled space between
intermission · interlude · interruption · respite · suspension · gap · passage · stretch · span · duration
termination
Act of ending something
voiding · invalidation · discontinuation · cancellation · forfeiture · nullification · conclusion · deadline · renewal · reinstatement
deterioration
Process of declining quality
- backslidingReverting to former sins
- regressionReturn to former state
- slippingLosing footing unintentionally
downturn · worsening · degradation · degeneration · falling-off · weakening · decay · erosion · slide · drop
forgetfulness
Failure to retain information
blackout · absentmindedness · forgetting · haziness · blankness · disremember
- faultsfault, flaw, defect, imperfection, shortcoming
- errorserror, mistake, blunder, blunders, fault
- blundersblunder, blunders, blundered, mistakes, botch
- human flawsmistake, error, flaw, fault, failing
- inattentiondistracted, spacing, absent-minded, distraction, obliviousness
- mental lapsesforget, slip, misplace, overlook, zone out
lapsecontinuation
Act of proceeding further
continuance · continue · persist · persistence · continuity
lapseperfection
Absence of any fault
precision · exactness · accuracy · correctness · infallibility
lapsefocus
Concentrated attention point
concentration · attentiveness · vigilance · alertness · mindfulness
- time lapseSped-up recording of slowness
- memory lapseBrief forgetting episode
- mental lapseBrief failure of attention
- lapse in judgment
- lapsed CatholicFormer active Church member
- time-lapse videosRecordings played faster than captured
collapse, relapse, collapsed, collapsing, lapsed, elapse, elapsed, lapses, collapsible