adj.
Pronunciation: ri- ' gre-siv
Function: adjective
Date: 1634
1 : tending to regress or produce regression
2 : being, characterized by, or developing in the course of an evolutionary process involving increasing simplification of bodily structure
3 : decreasing in rate as the base increases <a regressive tax>
– re · gres · sive · ly adverb
– re · gres · sive · ness noun
– re · gres · siv · i · ty \ ˌ r ē - ˌ gre- ' si-v ə -t ē \ noun