resuscitate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of resuscitate
1525–35; < Latin resuscitātus (past participle of resuscitāre “to reawaken”), equivalent to re- re- + sus- sus- + cit(āre) “to move, arouse” ( see cite 1) + -ātus -ate 1 ( def. )
Explanation
To resuscitate is to revive a person who has lost consciousness. In recent years it's become important for people to learn CPR so that they might resuscitate someone who loses consciousness, and many schools and hospitals offer classes in CPR. The Latin word suscitāre, "to raise," combines with re-, "again," to create the base of the verb resuscitate. Through the years, methods of resuscitation have advanced to the current sophisticated and effective levels of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, and defibrillation paddles that can shock a heart back to life. In fact, some patients nowadays ask to sign a "do not resuscitate" (DNR) order to allow them to die without medical interventions like resuscitation.
Vocabulary lists containing resuscitate
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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.
Celona, who has promised to resuscitate the city’s entertainment industry by fast-tracking film permits and cutting red tape, trails far behind.
From Los Angeles Times • May 24, 2026
On the campaign trail, he’s promising to resuscitate the city’s entertainment industry by fast-tracking film permits and cutting red tape.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
The network appeared to bank on that cross-promotion and corporate synergy by casting her as The Bachelorette to resuscitate its long-term decline in ratings.
From BBC • Mar. 21, 2026
In a meeting in the White House earlier this month, President Donald Trump lobbied oil company executives to invest $100 billion to resuscitate Venezuela’s oil industry.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
We’d left him sitting by the riverbank, drying under a mulberry tree, the tiny mariposas clinging to his mouth and nostrils as if trying to resuscitate him.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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.
