reprise

noun re·prise \ ri-ˈprēz , sense 1 is also ri-ˈprīz \

Updated on: 26 Apr 2018

Definition of reprise

1 : a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate —usually used in plural

2 : a recurrence, renewal, or resumption of an action

[French, from Middle French]

a : a musical repetition:

(1) : the repetition of the exposition preceding the development

(2) : recapitulation 3

b : a repeated performance : repetition

See reprise defined for English-language learners

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Examples of reprise in a Sentence

They ended their performance with a reprise of the opening number.
The team is hoping to avoid a reprise of last year's defeat.

Recent Examples of reprise from the Web

Viewers should not attend Tomb Raider hoping for a reprise of all that delighted them in the 2001 version of Tomb Raider.

— josephine livingstone, The New Republic, "There’s Something Different About the New Lara Croft," 20 Mar. 2018
By the time beach balls came raining down on audience members during a curtain call reprise of Fins, many were already dancing in the aisles and their seats, swatting the inflatable toys and making shark fins with their arms.

— patrick ryan, USA TODAY, "Jimmy Buffett's 'Margaritaville' is a boozy, baffling Broadway show just for Parrotheads," 16 Mar. 2018
That's why his glorious musical theater masterpiece deserves a more powerful reprise than this road company gives it.

— andrea simakis, cleveland.com, "'Rent' 20th anniversary tour lacks the heat and heart of Jonathan Larson's groundbreaking epic (review)," 9 Mar. 2018
For Structure Tone, the guilty plea was a reprise of a prior investigation, in 1998, when the company pleaded guilty to felony charges for its role in a $2 billion bid-rigging and bribery scheme.

— charles v. bagli, New York Times, "Investigators Eye Possible $100 Million Construction Fraud," 26 Feb. 2018
The parties are on the verge of doing so, together, once again — a reprise of the grand coalitions that have defined two of Merkel’s three terms.

— griff witte, Washington Post, "The 28-year-old in Adidas who could sink a deal to keep Merkel in office," 28 Feb. 2018
On Sunday, Trump's daughter, Ivanka, is expected to attend the closing ceremony along with North Korean officials in a reprise of Vice President Mike Pence's uneasy appearance at the opener.

— david wharton, latimes.com, "Politics is part of the story, but the Pyeongchang Winter Games kept the focus on the athletes," 25 Feb. 2018
Now that Cunningham is gone, Baryshnikov has made Brodsky his partner in a sort of reprise.

— tony adler, Chicago Reader, "Arts / Dance / Poetry / Theater Brodsky/Baryshnikov is a meditation on mortality, with a little bit of dancing," 3 Feb. 2018
As lawmakers bickered in the Capitol, protesters marched outside in a reprise of the women’s march from a year ago.

— Time, "Blame Game Continues as Senate Tries to Reach Shutdown Compromise," 21 Jan. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'reprise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

When "reprise" was first adopted into English in the 15th century, it referred to a deduction or charge made yearly out of a manor or estate (and was usually used in the plural form "reprises"). It probably won't surprise you, then, to learn that "reprise" comes from an Anglo-French word meaning "seizure, repossession, or expense." Eventually, "reprise" came to refer to any action that was repeated or resumed. A later sense, borrowed from modern French, applies to specific types of repetition in musical compositions and was eventually generalized to describe any subsequent and identical performance. It's possible, for example, to have a reprise of a television program or a book.

Origin and Etymology of reprise

Middle English, from Anglo-French, seizure, repossession, expense, from feminine past participle of reprendre to take back, from re- + prendre to take, from Latin prehendere

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year