reorient

verb

re·​ori·​ent (ˌ)rē-ˈȯr-ē-ˌent 

reoriented; reorienting

transitive verb

: to orient (someone or something) again or differently: such as

a

: to change the orientation or direction of (something or someone)

reorient the antenna

reoriented herself so she was facing north

b

: to reacquaint (someone, especially oneself) with a situation, environment, etc.

woke up and reoriented myself to my surroundings

… returning servicewomen and men struggling to reorient themselves to civilian life.

—Molly Callahan

c

: to change the goal or emphasis of (something or someone)

… I stumbled into motherhood and was bewildered at … the volte-face required to reorient myself, my values and my way of life …

—Madeleine Bunting

… lacks nearly every resource necessary to reorient its archaic industrial economy …

—David Remnick

The long-term potential of vast databases of genomic data to … reorient the debate on medical priorities …

—Larry Downes and Paul Nunes

also : to direct (something) toward the interests of a different group

… reorienting its policy priorities to the working class.

—Franklin Foer

reorientation

(ˌ)rē-ˌȯr-ē-ən-ˈtā-shən 

-ˌen-

noun

plural reorientations

Many soldiers also find blogging a useful way to help deal with reorientation to civilian life …

—Brad Knickerbocker

Examples of reorient in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

However, in recent years, especially amid the population migration during and after the pandemic, banks have been reorienting their footprints to capture more deposits. —Leslie Picker, CNBC, 31 July 2025

In his work at the Stanford Center on Stress and Health, Spiegel has shown that hypnosis can lower pain, regulate stress responses, and help reorient goal-setting through mental framing, not brute force. —Alexander Puutio, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025

As part of this protocol, all of ALMA's large antennae have been reoriented downwind, helping to minimize potential damage from snow buildup or strong gusts. —María De Los Ángeles Orfila, Space.com, 5 July 2025

To date, Indian court rulings have allowed Greenpeace to keep its offices open, but the organization has scaled back and reoriented many of its campaigns. —Sarah Bush, Foreign Affairs, 3 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above