verb
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to restore (something) to good condition
to renovate paintings
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to revive or refresh (one's spirits, health, etc)
Usage
What does renovate mean? Renovate most commonly means to make improvements or changes to a structure, especially to the inside of a home or other kind of building. For example, a homeowner might renovate a room in their house by painting it and getting new flooring. This is often much more extensive: renovating a kitchen can involve getting new cabinets and appliances as well as new painting and new flooring, perhaps even a new layout. Some people renovate their homes themselves, while others hire a contractor to do it. The process of renovating is called renovation. The word renovation can also refer to such a project, as in This renovation is going way over budget. The word renovated can be used as an adjective to describe spaces that have been improved in this way, as in a newly renovated kitchen. More generally, renovate means to restore something to good condition—to repair or refurbish it. However, outside of the context of home improvement, the terms restore, refurbish, and repair are more often used. Renovate can also mean to reinvigorate, refresh, or revive, but this sense of the word isn’t commonly used either. Example: I’m planning to renovate the bathroom with new tile and a new vanity.
Synonym Usage
See renew.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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renovationnoun
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renovatornoun
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renovatableadjective
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renovativeadjective
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unrenovatedadjective
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unrenovativeadjective
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renovatinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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renovatesimple
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renovatessimple
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have renovatedperfect
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has renovatedperfect
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am renovatingprogressive
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are renovatingprogressive
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is renovatingprogressive
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have been renovatingperfect progressive
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has been renovatingperfect progressive
Past
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renovatedsimple
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had renovatedperfect
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was renovatingprogressive
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were renovatingprogressive
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had been renovatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of renovate
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (adjective), from Latin renovātus (past participle of renovāre ), equivalent to re- re- + novus new + -ātus -ate 1
Explanation
To renovate means to renew or rebuild so that something is in good condition. When you move into an old house, you will probably want to renovate the kitchen and bathrooms. Most usages of the word renovate revolve around buildings and architecture. During a generation change in a neighborhood, retired people move out and young families move in. They want to give new life to the old house they have bought so they renovate it by painting, redoing the floors, etc. If you renovate a historic building, you restore to its original splendor. Think of this sense of renewal if something renovates your spirits.
Vocabulary lists containing renovate
Brand Spankin' New: Words with Neo- and Nov-
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Power Prefix: re-
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The Westing Game
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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:
They had the most sympathy with student complaints about the excessive size of classes and with the need to renovate the country's crumbling schools.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
The two men described the removal as part of a seven-year-old plan to renovate National Park Service sites and said the speed of the weekend tree work wasn’t unusual.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
He is said to have spent an astonishing $100 million to renovate it for a planned Beechwood Art Museum.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 5, 2026
On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved $466.6 million in funding that will be doled out to developers, nonprofits, land trusts and other organizations to build and renovate affordable housing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026
The City of New York takes so much time to either renovate or bulldoze a condemned building it’s like those guys on Death Row who die of old age rather than execution.
From "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez
Prices may go up as supply contracts, insurance payments flood in, and investment renovates buildings to code; prices may go down as rising premiums and maintenance fees get tacked on.
From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2024
Since 2022 Trixie's also had her own show on Discovery+, Trixie Motel, which follows the drag queen as she renovates a motel in California.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2024
Beyond the Carter Center, the couple became the most famous volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, the international outfit that builds, repairs and renovates homes for low-income people.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2023
Through this initiative, Ivorian artistic director Lemon Otto renovates external facades of older building such as Pyramid, which was completed in 1973 under the direction of the Italian architect Rinaldo Olivieri.
From Reuters ● Apr. 24, 2023
The principal attribute of life that renovates for a while its moral and its physical exhaustion is excitability, and a constant excitement is therefore indispensable, to serve as fuel to the consuming fire.
From Curiosities of Medical Experience by J. G. (John Gideon) Millingen
"All our hopes and taking our little baby back to our renovated house just crashed before us", she added.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
“Arcade machines tend to be renovated quickly. Old Machines in Japan can be brought over to the U.S.”
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Some of the old cinemas have been restored and renovated, and the single-screen experience still has its devotees.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Before entering a heavily gilded Oval Office, Trump walked Xi along a renovated colonnade now adorned with gold-framed portraits of U.S. presidents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Kari Saipu’s house had been renovated and painted.
From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy
The prime minister has sought to address the issue of missing teachers and renovating buildings that are dilapidated.
From Barron's ● Oct. 6, 2026
Starbucks is also renovating hundreds of existing U.S. stores.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
They also have the opportunity to increase the value of their home by renovating the kitchen and doing other projects.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
Lavoie plans to use his money from selling some of his shares to fund a hotel he is renovating in Pontebba, Italy's northeastern Friuli region, plus a small brewery.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
Soon they were living in this house, while renovating their original house on Dart, and renting out the other house next door.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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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.
