resuscitate

verb

re·​sus·​ci·​tate ri-ˈsə-sə-ˌtāt 

resuscitated; resuscitating

transitive verb

: to revive from apparent death or from unconsciousness

also : revitalize

intransitive verb

: come to, revive

resuscitative

ri-ˈsə-sə-ˌtā-tiv 

adjective

Did you know?

The 16th century was a good one for words ending in the suffix -ate. Not only did our featured word, resuscitate, breathe life into the English language but so did the verbs anticipate ("to give advance thought, discussion, or treatment to"), eradicate ("to do away with completely"), estimate ("to esteem" or "to appraise"), and perpetuate ("to make perpetual"). It was a good century for words about words, too—vocabulary, quip, and hearsay all premiered as well.

Synonyms

• revive
• restore
• recreate
• refresh

Examples of resuscitate in a Sentence

The patient stopped breathing but doctors were able to resuscitate him.

she hopes to resuscitate the currently defunct charity organization

Recent Examples on the Web

First responders from Fort Leavenworth were unable to resuscitate him, and he was pronounced dead. —Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 26 Sep. 2025

Barron lost his pulse and went into cardiac arrest with doctors at a hospital emergency room resuscitating him, according to court documents. —Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 25 Sep. 2025

He was resuscitated on scene and then taken in an ambulance to Cincinnati’s Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the court record shows. —Jennifer Edwards Baker, Cincinnati Enquirer, 24 Sep. 2025

The coincidence suggested that a smoldering root or ember, not fully extinguished, might have been resuscitated by the dry wind. —Dana Goodyear, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin resuscitatus, past participle of resuscitare to reawaken, from re- + suscitare to rouse, from sub-, sus- up + citare to put in motion, stir — more at sub-, cite

First Known Use

1532, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Rhymes for resuscitate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

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Kids Definition

resuscitate

verb

re·​sus·​ci·​tate ri-ˈsəs-ə-ˌtāt 

resuscitated; resuscitating

1

: to bring back from apparent death or from unconsciousness

2

: revive sense 1

Medical Definition

resuscitate

transitive verb

re·​sus·​ci·​tate ri-ˈsəs-ə-ˌtāt 

resuscitated; resuscitating

: to revive from apparent death or from unconsciousness

resuscitate a nearly drowned person by artificial respiration