reignite

British  

/ ˌriːɪɡˈnaɪt /

verb

1. to catch fire or cause to catch fire again

   the burners reignited

2. to flare up or cause to flare up again

   to reignite the war

---

Explanation

To reignite something is to light it on fire again. If you want to reignite your campfire after pouring a pail of water on it, you'll have to find some dry wood. You can literally reignite things like gas stoves, birthday candles, or sparklers if their flames have been extinguished. You can also figuratively reignite something by making it flare up in some way: "The release of the balloons at the end of the rally was sure to reignite the crowd's excitement." This word adds the "again" prefix re- to ignite, from the Latin root ignis, "fire."

Example Sentences

Yes, those earnings reports could reignite worries about how much Big Tech companies are spending on artificial intelligence.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

And there is always the possibility that hostilities might reignite.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 11, 2026

Perhaps she’ll adapt her written account into a reality show, only to reignite her fame and win the White House.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

Bank stocks have been hammered in recent weeks on investor concerns over the exposure, alongside fears that the war in the Middle East could dent economic growth and reignite steeper inflation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Eventually the sons would arrive at a new transitory order and reignite the sun, letting existence begin anew.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann