revert
[ri-vurt]
- to return to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc.: They reverted to the ways of their forefathers.
- Law. to go back to or return to the former owner or to his or her heirs.
- Biology. to return to an earlier or primitive type.
- to go back in thought or discussion: He constantly reverted to his childhood.
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- a person or thing that reverts.
- Law. a reversion.
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Origin of revert
Synonyms
See more synonyms for revert on Thesaurus.com1, 3. retrogress.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for revert
Contemporary Examples
I asked him to describe the U.S. mission that will likely revert back to the embassy it was more than a half century ago.
If a bad edit appeared, the community could simply get rid of it by clicking on a “revert” link.
And will Pam and Cheryl revert back from the Coke Monster and Cherlene?
'Archer Creator Adam Reed on 'Vice,' Season 6's 'Unreboot,' and New CharactersMarlow Stern
August 5, 2014
Classically, by turning on/off several genetic switches, scientists can revert cells to a less specialized stage.
For her sake, New York cannot revert to the way it used to be.
Historical Examples
I revert, then, to my statement that God's relation to punishment is chiefly verbal.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
I am aware that I point the passage differently, while I revert to the old text.
A Dish Of OrtsGeorge MacDonald
It is necessary to revert to the other evening, after you took your leave.
A Comedy of Marriage and Other TalesGuy De Maupassant
Was he going to revert to the filthy cooking of imaginary figures?
His MasterpieceEmile Zola
And now to revert more particularly to our home life in the shanty.
Brighter Britain! (Volume 1 of 2)William Delisle Hay
revert
- to go back to a former practice, condition, belief, etcshe reverted to her old wicked ways
- to take up again or come back to a former topic
- biology (of individuals, organs, etc) to return to a more primitive, earlier, or simpler condition or type
- US to reply to someonewe will revert to you with pricing and other details
- property law (of an estate or interest in land) to return to its former owner or his heirs when a grant, esp a grant for the lifetime of the grantee, comes to an end
- revert to type to resume characteristics that were thought to have disappeared
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- a person who, having been converted, has returned to his former beliefs or Church
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Word Origin
C13: from Latin revertere to return, from re- + vertere to turn
usage
Since back is part of the meaning of revert, one should not say that someone reverts back to a certain type of behaviour
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for revert
v.
c.1300, "to come to oneself again," from Old French revertir "return, change back," from Vulgar Latin *revertire, variant of Latin revertere "turn back, turn about; come back, return," from re- "back" (see re-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Of position or property from mid-15c.; application to customs and ideas is from 1610s.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
revert
(rĭ-vûrt′)- To return to a former condition, practice, subject, or belief.
- To undergo genetic reversion.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.