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

President Trump will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday in a possible pivot point in efforts to end the war in Ukraine and an opportunity for Trump to continue reorienting American foreign policy. —Chris Megerian, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2025

The Trump Administration is committed to reorienting our education system to fully empower states, to prioritize meaningful learning, and provide universal access to high-quality instruction. —Benjamin Siegel, ABC News, 13 Mar. 2025

President Trump’s unambiguous, if modest, electoral victory in November, riding a wave of public anger over Biden-era inflation, has pushed many Democrats to reorient their policy platforms toward cost of living issues. —Calmatters, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025

Making The Deliverable The Ultimate Performance Review Organizations must reorient their focus back to outcomes. —Federico Imparatta, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above