repatriate

[ verb ree-pey-tree-eyt or, esp. British, -pa-; noun ree-pey-tree-it or, esp. British, -pa- ]

/ verb riˈpeɪ triˌeɪt or, esp. British, -ˈpæ-; noun riˈpeɪ tri ɪt or, esp. British, -ˈpæ- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR repatriate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), re·pa·tri·at·ed, re·pa·tri·at·ing.

to bring or send back (a person, especially a prisoner of war, a refugee, etc.) to his or her country or land of citizenship.

(of profits or other assets) to send back to one's own country.

verb (used without object), re·pa·tri·at·ed, re·pa·tri·at·ing.

to return to one's own country: to repatriate after 20 years abroad.

noun

a person who has been repatriated.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

repartee, repartition, repass, repassage, repast, repatriate, repatriation, repay, repayable, repayment, repeal

Origin of repatriate

1605–15; < Late Latin repatriātus (past participle of repatriāre to return to one's fatherland), equivalent to Latin re- re- + patri(a) native country (noun use of feminine of patrius paternal, derivative of pater father) + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

re·pa·tri·a·ble

[ree-pey-tree-uh-buh l or, esp. British, -pa-] /riˈpeɪ tri ə bəl or, esp. British, -ˈpæ-/, adjectivere·pa·tri·a·tion, nounnon·re·pa·tri·a·ble, adjectivenon·re·pa·tri·a·tion, noun

un·re·pa·tri·at·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for repatriation

A repatriation ceremony would help bury the ignominious squabbles of the past.
Incontrovertible Evidence Proves the First Americans Came From Asia|Doug Peacock|March 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Zionism was not about colonization; it was about repatriation.
Despite Hebron's Importance, Israel Will Have to Give It Up|Samuel Lebens|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
International agencies assume the solution for nearly all refugees is repatriation once the fighting stops.
Between Two Catastrophes: Look at Syria, and Question Everyone's Stories about 1948|Gershom Gorenberg|September 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Is Germany's repatriation of its gold reserves from storage in New York and Paris a signal of declining confidence in the Euro?
Germany Calls Home the Gold|David Frum|January 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST

This is common Zionist parlance in response to the idea of equal voting rights or repatriation for Palestinians.
This Duck Is an Apartheid Duck|Yousef Munayyer|March 22, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Provision will be made for the repatriation of German nationals and of German subjects holding property.
The Story of the Great War, Volume VIII (of VIII)|various
They inform me that orders have been received approving your application for repatriation.
Aces Up|Covington Clarke
It is therefore difficult to see of whom the repatriation would consist.
Crescent and Iron Cross|E. F. Benson
It served as an intermediary between the belligerents for the repatriation of the persons interned.
The Annual Register 1914|Anonymous
The repatriation of German prisoners of war shall be regulated at the conclusion of the preliminaries of peace.
America's War for Humanity|Thomas Herbert Russell

British Dictionary definitions for repatriation

repatriate

verb (riːˈpætrɪˌeɪt) (tr)

to send back (a refugee, prisoner of war, etc) to the country of his birth or citizenship

to send back (a sum of money previously invested abroad) to its country of origin

noun (riːˈpætrɪɪt)

a person who has been repatriated

Derived Formsrepatriation, noun

Word Origin for repatriate

C17: from Late Latin repatriāre from Latin re- + patria fatherland; compare repair ²

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for repatriation (1 of 2)

repatriation

1590s, from Late Latin reparationem (nominative repatriatio), noun of action from past participle stem of repatriare "return to one's own country," from Latin re- "back" (see re-) + patria "native land" (see patriot).

Word Origin and History for repatriation (1 of 2)

repatriate

1610s, from Late Latin repatriatus, past participle of repatriare "return to one's country" (see repatriation). Related: Repatriated; repatriating.