rejuvenate
Americanverb (used with object)
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rejuvenates,
present (3rd person singular)
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rejuvenated,
past participle, past
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rejuvenating
present participle
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to make young again; restore to youthful vigor, appearance, etc..
That vacation has certainly rejuvenated him.
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to restore to a former state; make fresh or new again.
to rejuvenate an old sofa.
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Physical Geography.
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to renew the activity, erosive power, etc., of (a stream) by uplift or by removal of a barrier in the stream bed.
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to impress again the characters of youthful topography on (a region) by the action of rejuvenated streams.
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verb (used without object)
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rejuvenates,
present (3rd person singular)
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rejuvenated,
past participle, past
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rejuvenating
present participle
verb
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to give new youth, restored vitality, or youthful appearance to
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(usually passive) geography
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to cause (a river) to begin eroding more vigorously to a new lower base level, usually because of uplift of the land
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to cause (a land surface) to develop youthful features
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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rejuvenationnoun
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rejuvenatornoun
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rejuvenativeadjective
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unrejuvenatedadjective
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unrejuvenatingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rejuvenatesimple
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rejuvenatessimple
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have rejuvenatedperfect
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has rejuvenatedperfect
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am rejuvenatingprogressive
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are rejuvenatingprogressive
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is rejuvenatingprogressive
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have been rejuvenatingperfect progressive
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has been rejuvenatingperfect progressive
Past
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rejuvenatedsimple
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had rejuvenatedperfect
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was rejuvenatingprogressive
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were rejuvenatingprogressive
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had been rejuvenatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rejuvenate
First recorded in 1800–10; re- + Latin juven(is) “young” + -ate 1; see also young
Explanation
When you make something young again or give it more life and energy, you rejuvenate it. For example, you can often rejuvenate a not-quite-dead plant, bringing it back to health with some water and some TLC. One way to remember the word rejuvenate is to pick it apart to its heart, the juve. This juve sounds like juvenile — which refers to youth. Add the prefix re, which means "again," and the "ate" suffix, which stands for "do or make." Put them all together and you get "make young again" — the meaning of rejuvenate. We all want to be younger, as witnessed by all the ads for products that promise to rejuvenate us through special cosmetics or foods or exercise equipment.
Vocabulary lists containing rejuvenate
Brave New World
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100 SAT words Beginning with "R"
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Prisoner B-3087
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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:
But Ihm says he hopes that Stile will help rejuvenate the area and create an ecosystem that will support neighboring businesses as well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
Analysts suggest Micron’s results could rejuvenate a stock-market rally, which has fueled wealthier Americans’ spending and concentrated risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Dr Kelly spearheaded efforts to rejuvenate Glasgow in the 1980s, launching the famous Glasgow's Miles Better campaign before later becoming the rector of the University of Glasgow.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Scott hopes this shuttling around of his stem cells, a procedure that costs patients $10,000, will rejuvenate his 82-year-old body and ward off the effects of aging.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Spirits flurried around inside her to rejuvenate whatever damage had been done as she rose and took an uneasy step forward.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
We need a foreign-policy approach that rejuvenates our alliances and creates enduring and mutually beneficial ties around the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
"It rejuvenates the T-cells, making them more protective against tumors."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 10, 2025
The cold rejuvenates fields and orchards, mainstays of the region’s economy, and the snow replenishes freshwater streams.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2024
The apartment is where she rejuvenates her spirit.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2023
All my discoveries make headlines, but the most controversial is a soap that rejuvenates aging skin.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
But publishing her first novel in 2023 — “This Bird Has Flown,” a charming bestseller about a one-hit wonder looking for a comeback — rejuvenated Hoffs’ devotion to songwriting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
The Knight that came back in the batting ranks for the start of the 2025 summer was rejuvenated, a weight off her shoulders, batting with freedom and without burden.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
While some people were driven crazy by spending hours in proximity to family, Kahan was creatively rejuvenated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 22, 2026
Now, eight months after Brian Wilson’s death in June at age 82, a new box set looks back at the era as an expressive outpouring led by the band’s rejuvenated visionary.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
It was still a struggle to carry the boy, but with someone else to help I was rejuvenated.
From "Prisoner B-3087" by Alan Gratz
We get it: we also fantasize about flowing to sunrise yoga on a Saturday morning, or strengthening our core, seaside, during a rejuvenating Pilates session.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
In the 1920s, Soviet polymath Alexander Bogdanov’s experiments with rejuvenating blood transfusions attracted the Kremlin’s attention—before he died as a consequence of his self-inflicted treatments, at the age of 55.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 29, 2026
In West Bengal, Salim insists the party is again "regrouping, repositioning and rejuvenating".
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
"This pattern suggests the brain may be reorganizing itself, essentially rejuvenating undamaged networks to compensate for lost function."
From Science Daily ● Mar. 29, 2026
The first weeks of August brought rejuvenating rain.
From "Hattie Big Sky" by Kirby Larson
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.
