reactivate

verb

re·​ac·​ti·​vate (ˌ)rē-ˈak-tə-ˌvāt 

reactivated; reactivating; reactivates

1

transitive : to activate (something or someone) again

… turning the dough (gently folding it over onto itself between the first and second rises) reactivates the yeast without pressing out as much air.

—Erika Bruce

: such as

a(1)

: to restore (an organized group such as a military unit) to an active state (as from a state of disorganization or deactivation)

(2)

: to restore (an individual) to active duty

He was reactivated after 9/11 and sent to Afghanistan for a year.

—Pam Kragen

(3)

: to cause (something such as an industrial plant, society, program, or commission) to function again after a suspension of activity

Started in 1987 and reactivated two years ago, the Leadership Shelby County program takes the participants through the process of developing and launching efforts to improve the community.

—John Walker

b

psychology : to cause (something such as a repressed complex) to reappear in consciousness or behavior

Feelings of inferiority were reactivated by the experience.

c

medical : to cause (a quiescent disease) to become active again

tuberculosis that was reactivated by fatigue

2

intransitive : to become active again

… a painful nerve and skin disorder that occurs when the immune system weakens in older people and the virus, which never entirely leaves the body, reactivates.

—Alison L. Sprout

Examples of reactivate in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The philosophy prioritizes profit over growth, encouraging businesses to optimize existing resources and reactivate past customer connections. —Hilary Tetenbaum, USA TODAY, 11 Dec. 2024

The virus never goes away, lying dormant in the nerve cells, and may occasionally reactivate and cause recurrent sores. —Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri also called for parliament to convene to elect a president next month to break a gridlock of more than two years and reactivate the country's crippled state institutions. —Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 2 Dec. 2024

Speaker Nabih Berri also called for parliament to convene to elect a president next month to break a gridlock of over two years and reactivate the country’s crippled state institutions. —Kareem Chehayeb and Fadi Tawil, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Medical Definition

reactivate

transitive verb

re·​ac·​ti·​vate (ˈ)rē-ˈak-tə-ˌvāt 

reactivated; reactivating

: to activate again : cause to be again active or more active: as

a

: to cause (as a repressed complex) to reappear in consciousness or behavior

persecution feelings reactivated by new social failures

b

: to cause (a quiescent disease) to become active again in an individual

a herpes infection reactivated by physical and emotional stresses

c

: to restore complement to (an inactivated serum) by addition of fresh normal serum