reorient
Americanverb (used with or without object)
adjective
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reorient
Explanation
When you get lost, you can reorient yourself with a compass. Reorient can also be used figuratively. You got off track with your college plans, but now you have reoriented yourself, and you are applying for the fall semester. The verb reorient has orient as its base. Orient is from the Latin word orientem, which refers to the sun rising in the East. In fact the verb orient meant to face East, so reorient literally means to face East again. Today, reorient is to adjust to new circumstances or positions. The curriculum will reorient student learning goals, but it also means you have to learn the new, new, new math.
Vocabulary lists containing reorient
Ghost Squad
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Bodega Dreams
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Shout
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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.
Did he push him in the wrong direction by trying to reorient his path?
From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026
What’s Next: Even if Warsh wants to reorient the Fed around trimmed mean measures of inflation, he has to convince his Fed colleagues.
From Barron's ● May 11, 2026
The push to increase investment has moved into higher gear, as Carney, a former central banker, tries to reorient a Canadian economy long dependent on trade with the U.S. to drive growth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 27, 2026
"I try to sort of help reorient people that, no, there is a public interest, and broadcast is different."
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2026
I open one of the doors off the main corridor, hoping to find a window so I can reorient myself, but I find only a ransacked laboratory, beakers and test tubes scattered across each counter.
From "Allegiant" by Veronica Roth
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.
