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When reprise was first adopted into English in the 15th century, it referred to a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate (and was usually used in the plural form reprises). It probably won't surprise you, then, to learn that reprise comes from an Anglo-French word meaning "seizure, repossession, or expense." Eventually, reprise came to refer to any action that was repeated or resumed. A later sense, borrowed from modern French, applies to specific types of repetition in musical compositions. That sense was eventually generalized to describe any subsequent and identical performance. It's possible, for example, to have a reprise of a television program or a book.
Synonyms
Examples of reprise in a Sentence
Jesse Green, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The 2020 reprise was hosted by former SNL cast member Leslie Jones.
—Tanner Stransky, EW.com, 8 Apr. 2024
That's a reprise of a standalone Tate bill that appears to be stalled, at least for now, in the House.
—Rebecca Grapevine, The Courier-Journal, 26 Mar. 2024
After Dalton meets Ellie (Daniela Melchior), a reprise of Kelly Lynch’s doctor-slash-romantic-interest from the original, Road House slips into a groove.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 9 Mar. 2024
Johns continued to establish her career throughout the 50s, gaining notoriety in England with films including State Secret, The Magic Box, and Mad About Men, which saw her reprise the role of Miranda.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 4 Jan. 2024
The pair both get a second chance to make things right during the reprise of their conversation in 2019's Rise of Skywalker, which inspires Driver's character to give up his allegiance to the Dark Side.
—Emlyn Travis, EW.com, 1 Dec. 2023
Apparently Ricci’s chopping skills have landed her a reprise of her starring role.
—Lauren Beale, Miami Herald, 31 Jan. 2024
The couple escaped unharmed, but — in a reprise of the riot last February — settlers swept into the town to carry out retaliatory attacks.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2024
Jp Mangalindan, Peoplemag, 19 Apr. 2024
Lindsay Lohan, the star of the original 2004 movie, made a cameo in the new film, and Tina Fey and Tim Meadows reprised their roles as a math teacher and the principal of North Shore High School, respectively.
—Zoe G Phillips, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Apr. 2024
Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob could be among deep pocketed financiers from Silicon Valley interested in reprising baseball in the East Bay where the A’s won four World Series.
—Chris Biderman, Sacramento Bee, 11 Apr. 2024
Joaquin Phoenix will reprise his role as Arthur Fleck − also known as The Joker in the movie.
—Chris Sims, The Courier-Journal, 10 Apr. 2024
Sophomore Elijah Paige starred in the Holiday Bowl at left tackle and is expected to reprise the role as the full-time starter.
—Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Joker's initial on-screen love interest, Sophie Dumond, is set to appear in Folie à Deux, with Zazie Beetz reprising the role after her character's arc came to an ambiguous end in the first film.
—EW.com, 10 Apr. 2024
Winona Ryder reprises her part as Lydia, a woman who has ties with the afterlife with Ortega playing her daughter who unintentionally rouses Keaton’s poltergeist.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 10 Apr. 2024
Along with Gaga and Phoenix, the film boasts a stacked supporting cast of Zazie Beetz (reprising her role from the original film), Brendan Gleeson, Catherine Keener, Steve Coogan, Jacob Lofland, Ken Leung, and Harry Lawtey.
—Tomás Mier, Rolling Stone, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reprise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near reprise
Cite this Entry
“Reprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprise. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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