regenerative
Americanadjective
-
of, relating to, or characterized by regeneration.
-
tending to regenerate.
Usage
What does regenerative mean? Regenerative means able to or tending to regenerate—to regrow or be renewed or restored, especially after being damaged or lost. The act or process of regenerating is regeneration. Regenerative is most commonly used in the context of biology to describe the properties of organisms or environments that are capable of regrowth. In animals, tissue, organs, or other body parts that have been injured or lost are sometimes regenerated. In some animals, regeneration happens on an even greater scale, with some being able to regrow an entire limb or tail. Environments that have been damaged or destroyed, like forests or grasslands damaged by fire, can also regenerate. Such things are said to have regenerative properties. Regenerative is also commonly used in a figurative way to describe actions that are intended to renew or restore. Example: Scientists are studying the regenerative properties of the hydra in hopes of shortening the healing process after injuries.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of regenerative
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Medieval Latin word regenerātīvus. See regenerate, -ive
Explanation
When something is regenerative, it has a ability to regrow or become better. A salamander's tail is regenerative — if it falls off, it can regrow! Animals with regenerative abilities, like starfish and some lizards, don't have to worry about losing body parts; they just form new ones. In farming, regenerative practices involve growing crops in a way that the environment is improved, with more nutrients in the soil and cleaner air and water. The Latin root of regenerative is regenerare, "bring forth again."
Vocabulary lists containing regenerative
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.
If a biomaterial can use those vessels as a delivery route, regenerative medicine may be able to reach injuries that are otherwise hard to treat.
From Science Daily • May 5, 2026
In health sciences, Kim pointed to USC research in regenerative medicine, neuroimaging and Alzheimer’s disease, saying AI is helping scientists understand disease at a cellular level and identify earlier interventions.
From Los Angeles Times • May 5, 2026
“Across the Ages” reveals a culture—omnivorous, regenerative, endlessly adaptable—whose dynamic abstract artworks resist any fixed sense of beginning or end, above or below, foreground or background.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026
The couple moved to Lancashire last year, accompanied by cocker spaniels Bruce and Bernie, and rabbits Bea and Bailey, after Warner Judd completed her PhD in regenerative medicine at Loughborough.
From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026
“Why is it so hard to believe? There have always been examples of regenerative abilities in nature.”
From "The Fourteenth Goldfish" by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
