reactivate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
reactivates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reactivated,
past participle, past
-
reactivating
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
reactivates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
reactivated,
past participle, past
-
reactivating
present participle
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
-
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:
His endorsement of a proposal to reactivate an idled refinery to process Venezuelan oil appears to have merit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
California-based Pacific Coast Energy Co., among newcomers to Venezuela’s energy patch, said this week that it has started a program to reactivate 900 wells in Cabimas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The lawyer says it is imperative to reactivate civil registry offices in accessible areas and intensify legal efforts to ensure children obtain their right to identity and legal recognition.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
The Ministry of Energy said that protocols to reactivate the grid were underway.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
The intercom turns itself off, and I push the button to reactivate it.
From "Liar & Spy" by Rebecca Stead
When she reactivates, having observed the animals for some long period, she’s able to communicate with them, though they’re terrified of her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2024
When people receive a second vaccination quite similar to the first, it reactivates memory cells elicited by the first vaccine.
From Science Daily ● May 17, 2024
"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
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
Scarlett Lewis, whose 6-year-old son, Jesse, was killed in the Sandy Hook shootings, said learning about every mass shooting is “like a punch in the gut every single time” that reactivates the pain and grief.
From Seattle Times ● May 25, 2022
Offering a a different vision to the Mecca alliance, it may eventually be reactivated creating a new economic Eurasian region.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
“The facilities remain in the Fed’s toolbox and can be reactivated as needed,” the team wrote in an Aug. 14 client note.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
Later in the evening, Webb deleted his account and has not reactivated it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
In working with Apple to improve security, Sir Mark said only a minority of stolen phones were being reactivated compared to a few months ago, making it "harder for criminals to profit".
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
She heard Festus clacking and whirring, the reactivated alarm bells ringing.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
But she warned that reactivating consular services was essential, given the large number of Venezuelans who require a US visa.
From Barron's ● Apr. 30, 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
"By reactivating uricase in human liver cells, we lowered uric acid and stopped the cells from turning excess fructose into triglycerides -- the fats that build up in the liver," Gaucher said.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 14, 2025
Sable, however, said it remains steadfast in its goal of reactivating the Santa Ynez Unit — a complex of three offshore platforms, onshore processing facilities and connecting pipelines.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
“For a job like this, we need our very best. And that’s me. I’m reactivating myself.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
