reinstate

verb

re·​in·​state ˌrē-ən-ˈstāt 

reinstated; reinstating

transitive verb

1

: to place again (as in possession or in a former position)

2

: to restore to a previous effective state

reinstatement

ˌrē-ən-ˈstāt-mənt 

noun

Examples of reinstate in a Sentence

After his name was cleared, he was reinstated as committee chairperson.

The school board voted to reinstate the school's uniform policy.

the year the death penalty was reinstated

Recent Examples on the Web

The vote came about six weeks after the board reinstated Hill following a lengthy outside investigation that found no evidence of wrongdoing on Hill’s part. — Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026

That same year Oregon similarly reinstated a policy that made simple drug possession a criminal offense again. — Jaclyn Diaz, NPR, 21 Oct. 2026

Journalists from all three outlets were briefly unable to access the building, but a federal judge reinstated their press credentials, finding the ban likely violated the First Amendment and the news outlets' right to due process. — Robert Costa, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Arguing that the end of fin-syn had killed off independent production, a group called the Coalition for Program Diversity urged the FCC to reinstate a version of it. — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 19 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1616, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for reinstate

• abate
• airfreight
• await
• baseplate
• berate
• birthdate
• birthrate
• bookplate
• borate
• breastplate
• bromate
• casemate

Kids Definition

reinstate

verb

re·​in·​state ˌrē-ən-ˈstāt 

reinstated; reinstating

: to place again in a former position or condition

reinstate an official

reinstatement

-mənt 

noun