resurrect

[ rez-uh-rekt ]

verb (used with object)

1. to raise from the dead; bring to life again.
2. to bring back into use, practice, etc.:

   to resurrect an ancient custom.

verb (used without object)

1. to rise from the dead.

resurrect

/ ˌrɛzəˈrɛkt /

verb

1. to rise or raise from the dead; bring or be brought back to life
2. tr to bring back into use or activity; revive

   to resurrect an ancient law

3. tr to renew (one's hopes, etc)
4. facetious.
   tr (formerly) to exhume and steal (a body) from its grave, esp in order to sell it

Other Words From

• resur·rector noun
• unres·ur·rected adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of resurrect¹

First recorded in 1765–75; back formation from resurrection

Example Sentences

On Thursday, Missy Elliott resurrected one of her most iconic hairdos—a sleek face-framing pixie cut—and it looks like it came straight from the ’90s.

From Essence.com

If the Port resurrects a new version of the fee in the future, the car companies must receive a 30-day notice “and all parties reserve their right to challenge the fee,” Page wrote in an email.

From Voice of San Diego

That this shift coincided with the Great Recession helped resurrect the global economy.

From Ozy

OceanSky is far from the only company pouring money into resurrecting the airship.

From Singularity Hub 

Most economists agree that the gold standard is an outdated idea that should not be resurrected.

From Quartz

How might we resurrect a tradition threatened with extinction?

From The Daily Beast

His goal, he said at the time, was to “resurrect something that my family built.”

From The Daily Beast

It was that basic desire that the justices in Gregg relied upon to resurrect the death penalty.

From The Daily Beast

She used her new powers to save the Doctor, defeat the Daleks, and to resurrect Captain Jack Harkness.

From The Daily Beast

I had never heard of him either, and I very much wanted to resurrect him and people like him.

From The Daily Beast

Hence it is impossible to resurrect two bodies out of the material common to both.

From Project Gutenberg

To resurrect these regions, to reconstruct these factories, raw materials are not now sufficient; we need means of transportation.

From Project Gutenberg

As for exhuming the files of the daily papers, one might as well try to resurrect Cheops.

From Project Gutenberg

It was impossible for one of her acquaintances to resurrect so much as a buckle without her instant and cordial recognition.

From Project Gutenberg

Black-green foliage, the curious old-green of trees that never wither and never resurrect.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• energize
• recover
• rejuvenate
• rekindle
• renew
• renovate
• restore
• resuscitate
• revitalize
• rouse