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revive.

To cause (a person or animal) to recover from a faint; to cause (a person or animal) to return to a state of consciousness.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/ɹɪˈvaɪ̯v/[ɹʷɪˈvaɪ̯v]/ɹiˈvaɪv/[ɹʷɪi̯ˈvaɪv]
  1. To cause (a person or animal) to recover from a faint; to cause (a person or animal) to return to a state of consciousness.

    transitive
    Her grandmother said that if she lost consciousness, she would not want to be revived.
    The dying puppy was revived by a soft hand.
  2. To bring (a person or animal which is dead) back to life.

    transitive
  3. To cause (something) to recover from a state of decline, neglect, oblivion, or obscurity; to make (something) active or lively again; to reanimate, to revitalize.

    figuratively · transitive
    The Manx language has been revived after dying out, and is now taught in some schools on the Isle of Man.
    This new paint job should revive the surgery waiting room.
  4. To cause (a feeling, state of mind, etc.) to come back or return; to reactivate, to reawaken.

    figuratively · transitive
  5. To renew (something) in one's or people's memories or minds; to bring back (something) to (public) attention; to reawaken.

    figuratively · transitive
    The Harry Potter books and films revived the world’s interest in wizardry.
  6. To make (something which has become faded or unclear) clear or fresh again; to refresh.

    figuratively · transitive
  7. To restore (a metal (especially mercury) or other substance in a compound or mixture) to its pure or unmixed state.

    figuratively · historical · transitive
    to revive a metal after calcination
  8. To give new validity to (a law or legal instrument); to reenact, to revalidate.

    figuratively · historical · transitive
  9. To put on a new production of (a musical, play, or other stage performance; also, a film or television programme).

    also · figuratively · transitive
  10. To bring (someone) back to a state of health or vigour.

    figuratively · obsolete · rare · transitive
  11. To rerun (an election).

    figuratively · obsolete · rare · transitive
  12. To recover from a faint; to return to a state of consciousness.

    intransitive
  13. Of a dead person or animal: to be brought back to life.

    intransitive
  14. Of a person, animal, or plant: to return to a state of health or vigour, especially after almost dying.

    intransitive
  15. To recover from a state of decline, neglect, oblivion, or obscurity; to become active or lively again; to reanimate, to revitalize.

    figuratively · intransitive
    Classical learning revived in the 15th century.
  16. Of a feeling, state of mind, etc.: to come back or return; to be reactivated or reawakened.

    figuratively · intransitive
  17. Of a metal (especially mercury) or other substance in a compound or mixture: to return to its pure or unmixed state.

    figuratively · intransitive · obsolete · rare
  18. Of a law or legal instrument: to be given new validity.

    figuratively · historical · intransitive · uncommon
  19. Of a musical, play, or other stage performance; also, a film or television programme: to have a new production put on.

    also · figuratively · intransitive
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Late Middle English reviven, revyven (“to recover from illness; to regain consciousness; to return to life after death; to happen again, recur; to be rejuvenated, renewed; (figurative) to bring back; (alchemy) of a metal: to be restored to its original form”), from Anglo-Norman reviver, revivre (“to return to life after death; to rejuvenate, renew; to make (a law or legal document) valid again”), Middle French revivre, and Old French revivre (“to return to life after death; to rejuvenate, renew”) (modern French revivre), and directly from their etymon Latin revīvere, the present active infinitive of revīvō (“to live again”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + vīvō (“to be alive, survive; to live”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)). The noun is derived from the verb.

noun/ɹɪˈvaɪ̯v/[ɹʷɪˈvaɪ̯v]/ɹiˈvaɪv/[ɹʷɪi̯ˈvaɪv]
  1. Synonym of revival (“an act of reviving, or a state of being revived (in various senses)”).

    obsolete
Where this word comes from

The verb is derived from Late Middle English reviven, revyven (“to recover from illness; to regain consciousness; to return to life after death; to happen again, recur; to be rejuvenated, renewed; (figurative) to bring back; (alchemy) of a metal: to be restored to its original form”), from Anglo-Norman reviver, revivre (“to return to life after death; to rejuvenate, renew; to make (a law or legal document) valid again”), Middle French revivre, and Old French revivre (“to return to life after death; to rejuvenate, renew”) (modern French revivre), and directly from their etymon Latin revīvere, the present active infinitive of revīvō (“to live again”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + vīvō (“to be alive, survive; to live”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)). The noun is derived from the verb.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.