Synonyms

revive

American

[ri-vahyv] / rɪˈvaɪv /

verb (used with object)

to activate, set in motion, or take up again; renew.

to revive old feuds.

Synonyms:

reactivate
to restore to life or consciousness.

We revived him with artificial respiration.

Synonyms:

resuscitate, reanimate, revitalize

Antonyms:

kill
to put on or show (an old play or motion picture) again.
to make operative or valid again.

Synonyms:

reactivate
to bring back into notice, use, or currency.

to revive a subject of discussion.
to quicken or renew in the mind; bring back.

to revive memories.

Synonyms:

refresh, rouse
to reanimate or cheer (the spirit, heart, etc., or a person).
Chemistry. to restore or reduce to the natural or uncombined state, as a metal.

verb (used without object)

to return to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, or a flourishing condition.
to recover from financial depression.
to be quickened, restored, or renewed, as hope, confidence, suspicions, or memories.
to return to notice, use, or currency, as a subject, practice, or doctrine.
to become operative or valid again.
Chemistry. to recover the natural or uncombined state, as a metal.

revive British

/ rɪˈvaɪv /

verb

to bring or be brought back to life, consciousness, or strength; resuscitate or be resuscitated

revived by a drop of whisky
to give or assume new vitality; flourish again or cause to flourish again
to make or become operative or active again

the youth movement was revived
to bring or come into use or currency again

to revive a language
(tr) to take up again

he revived his old hobby
to bring or come back to mind
(tr) theatre to mount a new production of (an old play)

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of revive

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English reviven, from Latin revīvere “to live again,” from re- re- + vīvere “to live” ( cf. vital)

Explanation

To revive something is to provide it with new energy or life, like when you revive a drooping plant by watering it, or when you revive a boring party by breaking out the karaoke machine. Revive comes from the Latin roots re-, meaning “again,” and vivere, meaning “to live.” So, the word revive means “live again.” While the possibility of bringing folks back from the dead isn’t something we’re qualified to comment on, we will note that revive can be used in a sense that’s very close to its literal meaning; specifically, revive can mean “cause someone to regain consciousness.”

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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.

See Examples For:

revive revives revived reviving

What it didn’t want was for his funeral to revive memories of an era when Chinese leaders were more willing to tolerate candor, debate and a measure of independence from the party line.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

I want to revive and kind of expand on that because we now have the real-life example of the birthright citizenship case.

From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026

That will remain an issue whether he remains at Chelsea or Manchester City elect to revive their interest and attempt to reunite him with his former manager Enzo Maresca before deadline day on 1 September.

From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026

But over the past few weeks, prices have started moving higher once again, as concerns about inflation and the credibility of the Federal Reserve appear to be helping revive investor interest.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

“Who would have thought of that combination of herbs? Isn’t it amazing!” she had said in delight, watching the creatures revive.

From "Messenger" by Lois Lowry

Press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders, which had a representative in court, wrote on social media that the trial "revives hope that justice will finally be served for a crime perpetrated nearly nine years ago".

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

The effort to establish a West Coast coal export terminal revives a fight that has played out repeatedly in recent years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Upon that appointment, Hegseth described him as "a generational leader" who will "help ensure the Army revives the warrior ethos, rebuilds for the modern battlefield, and deters our enemies around the world".

From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026

Prices are rising at Netflix and Amazon, while Hulu revives ‘Malcolm in the Middle’ and HBO Max has new seasons of ‘Hacks’ and ‘Euphoria’

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

The question revives Kropp, more particularly as he hears there’s no more beer in the canteen.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque

Tributes on Chinese social media revived Zhu’s most quotable lines, including his vow that he had prepared “100 coffins, 99 for corrupt officials and one for myself.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026

Perhaps, someday in the future, the spirit of 2020 will be revived with a new galvanizing philosophy: Most of our fellow citizens might actually be good people.

From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026

The investigation sputtered for decades because of a lack of evidence, but the case was revived when Davis's memoirs were published in 2019.

From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026

That sense of autonomy shaped how she expresses herself online today, and she believes that a revived MySpace should avoid the algorithmic, pay-to-play dynamics that dominate modern platforms.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

I read Dreiser’s Jennie Gerhardt and Sister Carrie and they revived in me a vivid sense of my mother’s suffering; I was overwhelmed.

From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright

Now, as the series’ 20th anniversary approaches, Day is reviving “The Guild” as a feature, “The Guild: Ren Faire’d,” through a Kickstarter campaign due to end Friday.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026

However, India will need to think of a new industrial policy to focus on reviving overall manufacturing, he adds.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

“China’s growth strategy—both short- and medium-term—puts technology and advanced manufacturing ahead of reviving domestic demand,” economists at Pantheon Macroeconomics said in a note this week.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026

One of OpenAI's most advanced models broke out of a locked-down test and attacked another company's website -- reviving fears that AI systems are slipping beyond their creators' control.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

Heaven opened and the water hammered down, reviving the reluctant old well, greenmossing the pigless pigsty, carpet bombing still, tea-colored puddles the way memory bombs still, tea-colored minds.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023