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.
Show More
- a person or thing that reverts.
- Law. a reversion.
Show More
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 reverted
Contemporary Examples
Lonard thinks ha-ha-ha and tells Bantam that the rights have reverted to him, which they have.
Finally, in the following episode—last Sunday's "Oathkeeper"—Jaime reverted right back to his good old sympathetic self.
He had reverted to the controlling and abusive figure who had forced her to flee in the first place.
Last fall, North Carolina reverted to form and voted for Mitt Romney.
Rakoff reverted to form, living up to his growing reputation as a judge who is soft on white-collar crime.
Ex-Goldman Board Member Boss Rajat Gupta Sentenced for Insider TradingAllan Dodds Frank
October 25, 2012
Historical Examples
When they were sitting at the door in the semidusk, he reverted to the idea.
Way of the LawlessMax Brand
To gain a diversion, he reverted to his familiar bullying tactics.
Within the LawMarvin Dana
She reverted to the subject a little later, while she washed the dishes and Alice wiped them.
Alice AdamsBooth Tarkington
When he returned Diane reverted to something he had said before.
The Night RidersRidgwell Cullum
She reverted to it presently as she was going indoors alone with her cousin.
The SnareRafael Sabatini
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
Show More
- a person who, having been converted, has returned to his former beliefs or Church
Show More
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
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for reverted
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.
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
revert
(rĭ-vûrt′)- To return to a former condition, practice, subject, or belief.
- To undergo genetic reversion.
Show More
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.