reinterpret
Britishverb
Other Word Forms
Explanation
If you re-examined the meaning of something and found something new or different, you reinterpreted it. You thought that when Brian said, "I love you," he meant as a friend, but you may want to reinterpret the meaning of those words since he bought you a diamond ring. The verb reinterpret also means to re-explain or interpret from a different point of view. Each year, historians try to reinterpret the primary source material in historical cases. For example, in 1892, Lizzie Borden's father and step-mother were killed with an ax. Lizzie was acquitted. Did she commit the crime? Well, historians examine and reexamine the evidence and interpret it and reinterpret it. Some think she did it and some think she was innocent. We may never know.
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.
"Ants, for example, this year are only available for customers who specifically ask to try them," said Atala, whose Sao Paulo restaurant D.O.M. plucks ingredients from the Amazonian wilderness to reinterpret Indigenous traditions.
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
"Our findings could help geologists reinterpret other ancient continental interiors where similarly large gaps occur in records, offering a better understanding of how Earth's continents have changed over hundreds of millions of years."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 21, 2026
Watching Bottura reinterpret the flavors of Emilia-Romagna felt familiar, even comforting, but that’s not why the episode stayed with me.
From Salon ● Aug. 6, 2026
The relative calm after the Cold War inspired a trend to reinterpret the American past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
How would you reinterpret Aristotle's and Hobbes's conception of human nature in the light of this definition?
From Introduction to the Science of Sociology by Robert Ezra Park
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.
