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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. That sense 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.
Synonyms
Examples of reprise in a Sentence
Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 21 Sep. 2023
The second-act reprise of the number is brief and remains lyrically vague.
—Theater Review Aug. 3, Vulture, 3 Aug. 2023
The men picked up a pair of medals last time and should be good for at least a reprise.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 26 July 2023
Netflix brought back the series for a four-episode limited run, titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, which saw the cast reprise their roles, including Gunn.
—Kelly Martinez, Peoplemag, 15 July 2023
The one-minute reprise of sorts wasn’t included on The Barbie Album and was otherwise unavailable before hitting streaming services Saturday.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2023
And the French, despite a couple of wobbly outings, are up against Morocco in a reprise of last year’s enchanting men’s semifinal.
—John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Aug. 2023
Her debut album, Samson, is reflective, unguarded, and triumphant, a hip-hop hero’s journey complete with an intro from Lin-Manuel Miranda (a huge look for Chika as a former theater kid) and a series of emotional reprises.
—Mankaprr Conteh, Rolling Stone, 27 July 2023
The Off Broadway version of Here Lies Love, which had two runs at the Public Theater from 2013 to 2015, ended with a grand, straightforward reprise of that Imelda solo.
—Vulture, 20 July 2023
Joe Otterson, Variety, 25 Sep. 2023
Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture reprise their roles from past movies, and the newcomers include 50 Cent, Megan Fox, and Tony Jaa.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2023
Numerous original cast members reprised their roles, and new actors also came in to play the roles of D.J. and Kimmy (Barber)'s kids as well as D.J., Stephanie (Sweetin) and Kimmy's love interests.
—Kelly Martinez, Peoplemag, 22 Sep. 2023
The lawsuit reprises an earlier one that ended with a 2015 agreement by the VA to build 1,200 units of housing on the campus with a commitment to complete more than 770 by the end of 2022.
—Doug Smith, Los Angeles Times, 20 Sep. 2023
In addition to directing, Branagh reprises his role as the iconic detective Hercule Poirot opposite Camille Cottin, Michelle Yeoh, Tina Fey, Jamie Dornan, Jude Hill, Kyle Allen and Riccardo Scamarcio.
—Pamela McClintock, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Sep. 2023
John Mahoney, who played Martin, died in 2018, while David Hyde Pierce opted out of reprising his role as Niles in the reboot.
—Issy Ronald, CNN, 15 Sep. 2023
With four matches left, the Wave have a good shot at obtaining one of the six playoff spots and a fair chance to land the third or fourth seed that would ensure a home match in the quarterfinals, reprising last year’s seeding.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Sep. 2023
Nicki Minaj is set to reprise her dual role from last year as emcee and performer for 2023 MTV Video Music Awards.
—Paul Grein, Billboard, 8 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'reprise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun
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
Verb
Middle English, from Middle French repris, past participle of reprendre
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 3
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2
Podcast
Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP
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Cite this Entry
“Reprise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reprise. Accessed 28 Sep. 2023.
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