reinstate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
reinstates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reinstated,
past participle, past
-
reinstating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reinstatesimple
-
reinstatessimple
-
have reinstatedperfect
-
has reinstatedperfect
-
am reinstatingprogressive
-
are reinstatingprogressive
-
is reinstatingprogressive
-
have been reinstatingperfect progressive
-
has been reinstatingperfect progressive
Past
-
reinstatedsimple
-
had reinstatedperfect
-
was reinstatingprogressive
-
were reinstatingprogressive
-
had been reinstatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reinstate
Explanation
When you reinstate someone, you return that person to a position or job. A principal might reinstate a laid off teacher when the school starts hiring again. Bosses can reinstate employees, countries can reinstate kings and queens, and governments can reinstate, or bring back, old laws. For example, during times of war the United States could very well reinstate the draft, which is not currently a law but has been in the past. Although it's not as common as reinstate, the word instate, from which it comes, means "to put someone in a certain state or condition."
Vocabulary lists containing reinstate
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This Week In Culture: August 8–14, 2020
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The chief justice wrote in 2021, in a ruling not to reinstate him, “Deters’ practice of law is not governed by constitution, rule of law or procedure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
On Monday, they announced they were suing to reinstate their access.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge Michael Sachs, weighing both state law and a Supreme Court order, rejected an attempt by the Chino Valley Unified School District to reinstate its mandatory parent-notification policy.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026
In January 2011, the Supreme Court upheld Singh's life sentence, refusing the prosecutors' plea to reinstate the death penalty.
From BBC ● Sep. 1, 2026
During the last few days of April, Mother Lois had humbled herself to make several trips to North Little Rock’s school headquarters to plead for her job, but they had refused to reinstate her.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
The bank reinstates coverage of St. Barbara with an outperform recommendation and a target of A$0.96/share.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
The EU's goal is that Meta reinstates third-party AI assistants' access to WhatsApp under the same conditions as before its October 2025 policy change when it "effectively" barred them.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
That language clearly reinstates any federal employee who was either told they’d be laid off during the shutdown or actually laid off.
From Slate ● Dec. 22, 2025
The Heisman Trust reinstates the trophy to Reggie Bush and USC, three years after the era of forbidding college athletes from receiving compensation ended.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 24, 2024
Here, we may say, really is the genuine positivism, which reinstates all spiritual reality.
From A New Philosophy: Henri Bergson by Vincent Benson
Sweden reinstated conscription in 2018 and will call up 9,000 recruits this year, compared with 3,500 in 2018.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Her claims were initially rejected, reinstated on appeal, then struck out again.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
It was removed from a sports photography festival in the northern French town of Deauville before a court ordered it reinstated.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
She said that after her employees’ federal badges expired last month, they were eventually reinstated until Oct.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 3, 2026
‘Then you are reinstated in probatio’ Octavian said, ‘until you have proven yourself in combat.’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
This included a cut to VAT on household electricity bills and business rate cuts for pubs, reinstating a £2 bus fare cap in England and holding initial cross-party talks on social care reform.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The researchers scored an early victory in the case in June 2025, when federal Judge Rita F. Lin granted them a preliminary injunction reinstating the terminated grants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
If Fedorov and Syrskiy can’t work together, then reinstating Fedorov would require dismissing his top general, whom he handpicked for the job.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
He did not endorse reinstating requirements or keeping the status quo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026
Before going to bed for the night, I wrote letters to my four just expelled students, reinstating them.
From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
