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
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
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The Unteachables
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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:
And that, said attorney Harry Daniels, who represents Brooks, is when she started the effort to reinstate charges against him.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
The analysts reinstate their coverage of the stock at buy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Officials have since launched Section 301 investigations, including on forced labor, to reinstate duties.
From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026
An influential UC admissions committee abruptly pulls back its road map for studying whether the university should reinstate SAT tests in admissions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
“It appears I shall have to reinstate Chiron as activities director. I suppose I do miss the old horse’s pinochle games.”
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
The NCAA, meanwhile, is hoping an appeals court reinstates Sorsby’s ban.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
ServiceNow extends gains into as second day after Bank of America reinstates coverage of the stock with a Buy rating.
From Barron's ● May 19, 2026
“We hope the school board reinstates him promptly to his position as superintendent.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 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
Lodged as they are in official quarters, they are merely to print formal statements, write letters, and, behaving properly, wait until the sovereign people, their employer, reinstates them.
From The French Revolution - Volume 3 by John Durand
Werro's triumph was all the more impressive given she suffered a nasty fall in her semi-final on Thursday, before later being reinstated into the final.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
At the end of April, the group said it had reinstated a regional parliament, which had been deemed illegitimate.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Some analysts had been concerned that gains that airlines like Lufthansa reaped from an Asia windfall brought on by the Iran war would fade fast now that carrier capacity in the Gulf is fully reinstated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
Italy temporarily reinstated border controls with Spain for one month, while 22 European Union member states called for an emergency discussion on strengthening the bloc’s external borders.
From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026
But the newly reinstated Commissioner Curtis would not even talk with them.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Once the tax is eliminated, the constitution would prohibit reinstating it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
Attorneys for Kil said the university was in the process of reinstating her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Powering today’s rally is a renewed sense of optimism from Wall Street, with Bank of America analyst Tal Liani reinstating coverage of the stock on Monday with a buy rating and a $130 price target.
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
ALAV's Loaiza is confident that reinstating connectivity will encourage other US companies to relaunch strategic routes -- particularly from Houston, which is vital for the oil industry.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 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
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
