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

The main telemetry system … has been successfully reactivated, after being shut down for two years, in an attempt to obtain additional data …

—NASA Activities

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

Vera cautions that reactivating Venezuela’s economic growth will be a medium- to-long-term task, but that when the feeling of political change is real, everything flows better, and the feeling of opportunity in the country is real right now. —Solly Boussidan, FOXNews.com, 10 Jan. 2026

And there is a risk of the parasites becoming dormant for years before reactivating and destroying a new cornea. —Kristen Rogers, CNN Money, 10 Jan. 2026

The result is a product that doesn’t just preserve memories but reactivates them, creating confusion between remembrance and simulation. —Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 8 Jan. 2026

The Dallas Stars have reactivated the goaltender after he was granted non-roster status. —Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1854, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for reactivate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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