resuscitate

verb

re·​sus·​ci·​tate ri-ˈsə-sə-ˌtāt How to pronounce resuscitate (audio)
resuscitated; resuscitating

transitive verb

: to revive from apparent death or from unconsciousness
also : revitalize
resuscitative adjective

Did you know?

The 16th century was a good one for words ending in the suffix -ate. Not only did our featured word, resuscitate, breathe life into the English language but so did the verbs anticipate ("to give advance thought, discussion, or treatment to"), eradicate ("to do away with completely"), estimate ("to esteem" or "to appraise"), and perpetuate ("to make perpetual"). It was a good century for words about words, too—vocabulary, quip, and hearsay all premiered as well.

Examples of resuscitate in a Sentence

The patient stopped breathing but doctors were able to resuscitate him. she hopes to resuscitate the currently defunct charity organization
Recent Examples on the Web Four years earlier, Black voters had resuscitated his campaign. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 4 Mar. 2024 Medical workers who arrived on scene were unable to resuscitate Navalny, and the cause of death is being established. James Farrell, Forbes, 17 Feb. 2024 The 2020 national-security law, combined with British colonial regulations that the city has resuscitated to criminalize political speech, have obliterated civic space. Timothy McLaughlin, The Atlantic, 9 Feb. 2024 The person who resuscitated this 100-year-old observation in recent years was the late Lynn Stout, a scholar who argued for stakeholder capitalism. Peter Vanham, Fortune, 8 Feb. 2024 Efforts to resuscitate the woman were unsuccessful. Ron Wood, arkansasonline.com, 19 Feb. 2024 Russia’s Federal Prison Service said that an ambulance arrived to try and resuscitate Navalny, but could not. Peter Aitken, Fox News, 17 Feb. 2024 But there’s no disputing that the task of resuscitating the Chargers, who were an ugly 5-12 last season and face severe salary-cap challenges, requires nothing less than the might and dedication of a caped crusader. Helene Elliott, Los Angeles Times, 7 Feb. 2024 The consensus among specialists is that initiating a C-section within roughly four minutes of the mother’s death improves the infant’s chances of survival; delivering the baby also improves chances of resuscitating the mother. Stephania Taladrid, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'resuscitate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Latin resuscitatus, past participle of resuscitare to reawaken, from re- + suscitare to rouse, from sub-, sus- up + citare to put in motion, stir — more at sub-, cite

First Known Use

1532, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of resuscitate was in 1532

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Dictionary Entries Near resuscitate

Cite this Entry

“Resuscitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/resuscitate. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

resuscitate

verb
re·​sus·​ci·​tate ri-ˈsəs-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce resuscitate (audio)
resuscitated; resuscitating
1
: to bring back from apparent death or from unconsciousness
2

Medical Definition

resuscitate

transitive verb
re·​sus·​ci·​tate ri-ˈsəs-ə-ˌtāt How to pronounce resuscitate (audio)
resuscitated; resuscitating
: to revive from apparent death or from unconsciousness
resuscitate a nearly drowned person by artificial respiration

More from Merriam-Webster on resuscitate

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