rejuvenate
verb
Did you know?
The word rejuvenate is intended for mature audiences—that is, it applies to people and things that are no longer green to this world. While there is no true Fountain of Youth that can turn back the clock, rejuvenation can at least restore a bit of youthful appearance, health, or vigor. Rejuvenate originated as a combination of the prefix re-, which means "again," and the Latin juvenis, meaning "young." (It will come as no surprise that juvenis is also an ancestor of juvenile and junior). Its first-known use in the mid-18th century was in reference to "certain Potions" rejuvenating "the noble Parts" of those suffering prolonged ailments, but it didn't take long for the word to see life outside of medical contexts. Today one might rejuvenate an old car with a fresh coat of paint, a losing football team with a new quarterback, or depleted soil with some nitrogen-fixing legumes, to name just a few examples.
Did you know?
Juvenis, Latin for "young", can be seen in a word such as juvenile. Rejuvenation is something that can be carried out on a creaky old house, a clunker of a car, a sluggish career, a weak economy, or a company that's lost its edge, but rejuvenate and rejuvenation are probably used most often for talking about our physical selves. Ads for lotions promise skin rejuvenation; diet-book covers show rejuvenated (or maybe just young) models bursting with health. We still seem to be searching for that "Fuente de la Juventud" that Juan Ponce de León failed to discover five hundred years ago.
Examples of rejuvenate in a Sentence
Joey Garrison, USA Today, 8 July 2025
Evans had just concluded the offseason and admitted he feels rejuvenated by his younger teammates.
—Rick Stroud, The Orlando Sentinel, 7 July 2025
Cho, as the perceptive and generous Jin, distracted from his own family troubles by the sudden flashes of Casey’s bright light, is wise and rejuvenated; disinterested admiration makes this man, who looks to be in his forties, nearly a teen-ager again.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 20 June 2025
Aloe Vera Aloe vera helps repair skin after sun damage, hydrate skin, and rejuvenate skin.
—Heather Jones, Verywell Health, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for rejuvenate
Cite this Entry
“Rejuvenate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rejuvenate. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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rejuvenate
verb
Medical Definition
rejuvenate
verb
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