reorient

verb

re·​ori·​ent (ˌ)rē-ˈȯr-ē-ˌent 

reoriented; reorienting

transitive verb

: to orient (someone or something) again or differently: such as

a

: to change the orientation or direction of (something or someone)

reorient the antenna

reoriented herself so she was facing north

b

: to reacquaint (someone, especially oneself) with a situation, environment, etc.

woke up and reoriented myself to my surroundings

… returning servicewomen and men struggling to reorient themselves to civilian life.

—Molly Callahan

c

: to change the goal or emphasis of (something or someone)

… I stumbled into motherhood and was bewildered at … the volte-face required to reorient myself, my values and my way of life …

—Madeleine Bunting

… lacks nearly every resource necessary to reorient its archaic industrial economy …

—David Remnick

The long-term potential of vast databases of genomic data to … reorient the debate on medical priorities …

—Larry Downes and Paul Nunes

also : to direct (something) toward the interests of a different group

… reorienting its policy priorities to the working class.

—Franklin Foer

reorientation

(ˌ)rē-ˌȯr-ē-ən-ˈtā-shən 

-ˌen-

noun

plural reorientations

Many soldiers also find blogging a useful way to help deal with reorientation to civilian life …

—Brad Knickerbocker

Examples of reorient in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump's allies overseas may be expecting him, for a second time, to reorient foreign policy away from global alliances and toward their politically populist, in some cases authoritarian, priorities. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 15 Nov. 2024

After the pandemic hit, Rapa Nui—also known as Easter Island—made efforts to reorient its relationship with tourism during the two-odd years that its borders remained closed. —Cnt Editors, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2024

There is the pending House v. NCAA settlement that stands to reorient college sports, including the burden of an additional $20-plus million in annual revenue sharing that Baker is determined WVU will fully participate in. —Justin Williams, The Athletic, 15 Aug. 2024

But Welker and Gelles have also made changes to the show, some subtle, some not, meant to reorient it to the media environment that is, not the one that was, or that some in TV news wish to be. —Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above