revenant

noun

rev·​e·​nant ˈre-və-nənt  -ˌnäⁿ 

: one that returns after death or a long absence

revenant adjective

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What is a revenant?

For much of 2016, revenant was among our top lookups, doubtless because it was prominently featured in the title of a movie (The Revenant) released in 2015. Outside of contemporary cinema, revenant is encountered rarely, and it appears likely that many users who were unfamiliar with the word wished to learn more about its meaning and perhaps where it came from. Denoting “one that returns after death or a long absence,” revenant is a borrowing from French that was originally formed from the present participle of the verb revenir ("to return"). It literally means “one coming back,” either from another place or from the dead.

Examples of revenant in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Behind this fleet of revenants is a network called the Slave Wrecks Project. —Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025

The revenant nod to music of his late cousin, Organized Noize’s Rico Wade, on the cover, never finds its way into the tape. —Gary Suarez, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024

Vacationing teens have stumbled across a mysterious locket hanging from the wreckage of a fire-lookout tower and, in taking it, have unwittingly resurrected a hulking revenant named Johnny (Ry Barrett) who then menaces the group in the Ontario woods. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 31 May 2024

Revenant graves throughout history Evidence for revenant graves from various historical periods has been found throughout Europe. —Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 19 Apr. 2024

Returning to her North London home, this revenant is soon embroiled in a high-society plot involving a local landowner (Pip Torrens), his weak-willed son (Jake Dunn) and vengeful daughter (Alice Kremelberg), and a string-pulling Earl (Adrian Lester). —Mike McCahill, Variety, 27 Mar. 2024

The director’s own path as a cultural revenant continues to be inextricably woven through her work, alongside a contemplative consideration of repatriation and reparations, in her multifaceted medium-length docu-fictional essay Dahomey. —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Feb. 2024

When sniffing out a revenant, lack of decomposition was, literally, a dead giveaway. —Franz Lidz, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2023

Did this rodent revenant cross a stygian void to haunt us yet again? —Jon Chesto, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Dec. 2022

Word History

Etymology

French, from present participle of revenir to return

First Known Use

1818, in the meaning defined above