lapse

v. fail to reach an accepted standard; gradually slip into or out of a state or condition; elapse, expire, come to an end; become void; fall out of general use

n. error, mistake, failure; temporary deviation; passage of time, pause; gradual sinking to a lower degree, decline; expiration, termination

Lapse and anti-lapse are complementary concepts under the law of wills, which address the disposition of property that is willed to someone who dies before the testator (the writer of the will).
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Noun
1. a mistake resulting from inattention
(synonym) oversight
(hypernym) mistake, error, fault
2. a break or intermission in the occurrence of something; "a lapse of three weeks between letters"
(hypernym) pause, intermission, break, interruption, suspension
(derivation) elapse, pass, slip by, glide by, slip away, go by, slide by, go along
3. a failure to maintain a higher state
(synonym) backsliding, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting
(hypernym) failure
(hyponym) recidivism
(derivation) relapse, recidivate, regress, retrogress, fall back
Verb
1. pass into a specified state or condition; "He sank into Nirvana"
(synonym) sink, pass
(hypernym) move
2. end, at least for a long time; "The correspondence lapsed"
(hypernym) end, stop, finish, terminate, cease
3. drop to a lower level, as in one's morals or standards
(synonym) backslide
(hypernym) slip, drop off, drop away, fall away
(derivation) backsliding, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting
4. go back to bad behavior; "Those who recidivate are often minor criminals"
(synonym) relapse, recidivate, regress, retrogress, fall back
(hypernym) revert, return, retrovert, regress, turn back
(derivation) backsliding, lapsing, relapse, relapsing, reversion, reverting
5. let slip; "He lapsed his membership"
(hypernym) forfeit, give up, throw overboard, waive, forgo
6. pass by; "three years elapsed"
(synonym) elapse, pass, slip by, glide by, slip away, go by, slide by, go along
(hypernym) advance, progress, pass on, move on, march on, go on
(hyponym) fly, fell, vanish

n. lapse

(v. t.)
To surprise in a fault or error; hence, to surprise or catch, as an offender.
  

(v. t.)
To let slip; to permit to devolve on another; to allow to pass.
  

(v. i.)
To slide or slip in moral conduct; to fail in duty; to fall from virtue; to deviate from rectitude; to commit a fault by inadvertence or mistake.
  

(v. i.)
To pass slowly and smoothly downward, backward, or away; to slip downward, backward, or away; to glide; -- mostly restricted to figurative uses.
  

(v. i.)
To fall or pass from one proprietor to another, or from the original destination, by the omission, negligence, or failure of some one, as a patron, a legatee, etc.
  

(v. i.)
To become ineffectual or void; to fall.
  

(n.)
The termination of a right or privilege through neglect to exercise it within the limited time, or through failure of some contingency; hence, the devolution of a right or privilege.
  

(n.)
A slip; an error; a fault; a failing in duty; a slight deviation from truth or rectitude.
  

(n.)
A gliding, slipping, or gradual falling; an unobserved or imperceptible progress or passing away,; -- restricted usually to immaterial things, or to figurative uses.
  

(n.)
A fall or apostasy.