reimagine

American  

[ree-i-maj-in] / ˌri ɪˈmædʒ ɪn /

verb (used with object)

1. to think about or consider in a new and creative way: Each of the forty short stories reimagines a moment from the original film, but through the eyes of a supporting character.

   For decades, Walt Disney would strive to reimagine the typical amusement park as a theme park, an idealized salute to America's past and a nod to an experimental vision for its future.

   Each of the forty short stories reimagines a moment from the original film, but through the eyes of a supporting character.

2. to create or imagine a new lifestyle or identity for (oneself).

   It was a song written to help him transform and reimagine himself in the aftermath of his parent's divorce.

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Etymology

Origin of reimagine

First recorded in 1825–30; re- ( def. ) + imagine ( def. )

Explanation

To reimagine is to have a new idea about something familiar. If you've always thought one way about what something means, what it's worth, or how it could be made — but now you see it differently — you've begun to reimagine it. Perhaps you can't imagine your piano lessons ever being worth your time. But if you go to a concert and listen to your favorite pop artist jamming on the keyboard, you might reimagine their value! A young child might make up a silly story about a rhinoceros who wants to be a mouse. As an adult writer, that former child may reimagine the story into a fable about how a rhinoceros learns to understand his own worth rather than longing to be different.

Example Sentences

It’s lively and funny, but it doesn’t reimagine the film or fully recreate its propulsive energy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

“The stuff that I wear is for men, and I just reinvent it and reimagine it,” she says.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2026

The farm has inspired countless visitors to reimagine their relationship to food, such as one group of women who visited the farm to support a friend’s health journey after a breast cancer diagnosis.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 27, 2026

Gatherings like Munich are an opportunity to reimagine these structures of cooperation and develop new strategies to meet the challenges of the moment.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 25, 2026

He closed his eyes and tried to reimagine this spacious room with the alien furniture, but he couldn’t.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie