revert

[ ri-vurt ]
See synonyms for: revertrevertedreverting on Thesaurus.com

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.

  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.

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

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.

  1. Law. a reversion.

Verb Phrases
  1. revert to,

    • 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.

    • to go back in thought or discussion: He constantly reverted to stories from his childhood.

Origin of revert

1
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)

Other words for revert

Other words from revert

  • re·vert·i·ble, adjective
  • re·vert·i·bil·i·ty [ri-vur-tuh-bil-i-tee], /rɪˌvɜr təˈbɪl ɪ ti/, noun
  • re·ver·tive, adjective
  • re·ver·tive·ly, adverb
  • non·re·vert·i·ble, adjective
  • non·re·ver·tive, adjective
  • un·re·vert·ed, adjective
  • un·re·vert·i·ble, adjective
  • un·re·vert·ing, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use revert in a sentence

  • Her memory reverted to experiences that had made her feel as much older than the ordinary girl as she now felt at sea.

    Ancestors | Gertrude Atherton
  • She then reverted to all she had loved and admired of the beauties of nature, and which she was now to leave forever.

  • Her emotion must have surprised her, but immediately she regained her placidity and reverted no more to the subject.

    The Fifth String   | John Philip Sousa
  • She was going down the stairs, Fortunio a step behind her, when her mind reverted to the happening at La Rochette.

    St. Martin's Summer | Rafael Sabatini
  • Her mind had reverted at once to Crompton Place, now hers in reality, although she probably did not think of that.

    The Cromptons | Mary J. Holmes

British Dictionary definitions for revert

revert

verb(rɪˈvɜːt) (intr foll by to)
  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

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

  2. US to reply to someone: we will revert to you with pricing and other details

  3. 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

  4. revert to type to resume characteristics that were thought to have disappeared

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

Origin of revert

1
C13: from Latin revertere to return, from re- + vertere to turn

usage For revert

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

Derived forms of revert

  • reverter, noun
  • revertible, adjective

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