revert

American  

[ri-vurt] / rɪˈvɜrt /

verb (used without object)

1. to return to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc..

   It wasn't so much that things had never changed, it was that people had reverted instead of moving forward.

   Synonyms:

   retrogress

2. Law. (of assets) to go back to or return to the former owner or to their heirs.

   After a certain number of years, ownership of the bridge reverts to the public.

3. Biology. to return to an earlier or primitive type.

   Synonyms:

   retrogress

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verb (used with object)

1. to undo or roll back.

   The new version is a mess, but we should be able to revert the edits.

noun

1. an act or instance of returning to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc.; reversion.

   Now we are seeing a revert to a simpler writing style that grabs our attention instantly.

2. a person or thing that goes back to a previous state or condition, especially a previous religion (often used attributively).

   We offer a course for revert Muslims.

   She was a revert who left the church and came back a decade later.

3. Law. a reversion.

verb phrase

1. revert to

   1. to return or go back to a previous state or condition.

      After that, I stopped riding the bus and reverted to my old car-driving ways.

   2. to go back in thought or discussion.

      He constantly reverted to stories from his childhood.

revert British  

verb

1. to go back to a former practice, condition, belief, etc

   she reverted to her old wicked ways

2. to take up again or come back to a former topic

3. biology (of individuals, organs, etc) to return to a more primitive, earlier, or simpler condition or type

4. to reply to someone

   we will revert to you with pricing and other details

5. 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

6. to resume characteristics that were thought to have disappeared

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noun

1. a person who, having been converted, has returned to his former beliefs or Church

Usage

Since back is part of the meaning of revert , one should not say that someone reverts back to a certain type of behaviour

Other Word Forms

• nonrevertible
  adjective
• nonrevertive
  adjective
• reverter
  noun
• revertibility
  noun
• revertible
  adjective
• revertive
  adjective
• revertively
  adverb
• unreverted
  adjective
• unrevertible
  adjective
• unreverting
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of revert

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English reverten, from Old French revertir, Anglo-French reverter, from Latin revertere “to turn back,” from re- re- + vertere “to turn” ( cf. verse)

Explanation

While revert means to return to something earlier or to go back, it's often used wrongly in combination. If you're buying the older version of the game, you might say you're "reverting back," which is like saying "go back back." Revert has been around since the early 14th century, and it has changed little in meaning from the original "turn back" and "return." You can revert to a simpler way of life or revert to bad behavior. Software users might revert to an older version of a program with fewer bugs. Though rare in modern use, some international English speakers do use "revert back" for "reply" in writing and e-mail, but most of the time, using revert with "back" is redundant, or repetitive.

Example Sentences

Revert is thus a triple win — providing value to the supplier, the user and the environment.

From Nature • Mar. 22, 2016

Rolls-Royce benefits by securing long-term agreements with material suppliers that safeguard supply in exchange for the return of the Revert material.

From Nature • Mar. 22, 2016

As a result of Revert, much of the material used by Rolls-Royce can be reused as part of a closed-loop system.

From Nature • Mar. 22, 2016

Whether that will continue to be the case remains to be seen, though co-manager Dominique Revert told Canal+ on Sunday that the venue will eventually reopen.

From The Guardian • Nov. 16, 2015

Revert to the original meaning of the word.

From The Art of Public Speaking by Carnagey, Dale

Related Words

• degenerate
• go back
• hark back
• react
• regress
• turn back