reactivate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
reactivatesimple
-
reactivatessimple
-
have reactivatedperfect
-
has reactivatedperfect
-
am reactivatingprogressive
-
are reactivatingprogressive
-
is reactivatingprogressive
-
have been reactivatingperfect progressive
-
has been reactivatingperfect progressive
Past
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reactivatedsimple
-
had reactivatedperfect
-
was reactivatingprogressive
-
were reactivatingprogressive
-
had been reactivatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of reactivate
Explanation
Whether it’s a slumping economy, a gym membership you let expire, or a feature on your phone that you shut off by accident, when you reactivate something, you put it back into action. In reactivate the prefix re- means "again." Added to the word activate, meaning "start," reactivate means "start again." If your email account has been shut down because of a password error, for example, you would contact tech support to reactivate it, or if you used to be part of a group that has stopped meeting, you might call the other members to see if they are interested in reactivating it, meaning start it back up.
Vocabulary lists containing reactivate
Just Do It: Act
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Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for November 5–November 11, 2022
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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 Ministry of Energy said that protocols to reactivate the grid were underway.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
In others who have previously been infected, immunosuppression can allow the virus to reactivate and multiply.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 15, 2026
Instead, he is looking to reactivate one of his nonprofit’s programs that brings Venezuelan students to the U.S. to learn about democratic systems.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026
"Injecting economic resources into affected families helps reactivate the local economy," he says.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
In the months that followed the Fukushima Daiichi meltdown, when other reactors around Japan went offline for maintenance, the government withheld approval for them to reactivate.
From "Meltdown" by Deirdre Langeland
"If you ever log on to your account for any reason, even accidentally, because it is an app on your phone it reactivates and then sends a new order," she said.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2024
Fluid injection first reactivates the fault patches through slow, aseismic slip and causing only few and small seismic events, followed by a progressive localization ultimately leading to large induced events.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 18, 2024
After a person recovers from chickenpox, the virus can remain dormant in the body for many years, until it reactivates and becomes shingles.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 24, 2023
The scientists reported they treated seven monkeys, and then infected these animals and seven controls with simian immunodeficiency virus, which is closely related to HIV in humans and reactivates tuberculosis.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 5, 2022
Out on the street, vampires catch fire and turn into crispy critters as the UV shield reactivates.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2015
Later in the evening, Webb deleted his account and has not reactivated it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
"If stolen phones cannot be reactivated, their value collapses, and so does the incentive to steal them," Sir Mark said.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon and Niger in 2015 reactivated a multinational force set up in the mid-1990s to combat jihadist groups operating around the lake.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
President Trump, in his first term, reactivated the federal death penalty after a 17-year hiatus and put 13 inmates to death in its final months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
A count of five later, the lights flickered on, and the crash bracelets steadied her as the board reactivated, rising smoothly up under her feet with reassuring solidness.
From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld
The United States is in the process of reactivating its embassy in Caracas.
From Barron's ● Jun. 13, 2026
Termination was never automatic after 13 strikes, and there was no evidence Cox ever terminated a subscriber’s account without reactivating it.
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2025
The Harlequins player deactivated his X account following his initial post, before reactivating it to claim he was "just having a bit of fun trying to spark interest in a mega rugby fixture".
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2024
“We are focused on reactivating the large amount of research studies that have been on hold for over a year now,” Waldron said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2024
The damage must prevent the sight shield from reactivating.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
