revert
Americanverb (used without object)
-
to return to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc..
It wasn't so much that things had never changed, it was that people had reverted instead of moving forward.
- Synonyms:
- retrogress
-
Law. (of assets) to go back to or return to the former owner or to their heirs.
After a certain number of years, ownership of the bridge reverts to the public.
-
Biology. to return to an earlier or primitive type.
- Synonyms:
- retrogress
verb (used with object)
noun
-
an act or instance of returning to a former habit, practice, belief, condition, etc.; reversion.
Now we are seeing a revert to a simpler writing style that grabs our attention instantly.
-
a person or thing that goes back to a previous state or condition, especially a previous religion (often used attributively).
We offer a course for revert Muslims.
She was a revert who left the church and came back a decade later.
-
Law. a reversion.
verb phrase
verb
-
to go back to a former practice, condition, belief, etc
she reverted to her old wicked ways
-
to take up again or come back to a former topic
-
biology (of individuals, organs, etc) to return to a more primitive, earlier, or simpler condition or type
-
to reply to someone
we will revert to you with pricing and other details
-
property law (of an estate or interest in land) to return to its former owner or his heirs when a grant, esp a grant for the lifetime of the grantee, comes to an end
-
to resume characteristics that were thought to have disappeared
noun
Usage
Since back is part of the meaning of revert , one should not say that someone reverts back to a certain type of behaviour
Other Word Forms
- nonrevertible adjective
- nonrevertive adjective
- reverter noun
- revertibility noun
- revertible adjective
- revertive adjective
- revertively adverb
- unreverted adjective
- unrevertible adjective
- unreverting adjective
Etymology
Origin of revert
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English reverten, from Old French revertir, Anglo-French reverter, from Latin revertere “to turn back,” from re- re- + vertere “to turn” ( verse )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ollie Watkins has netted just once in his past 10 games, slowly reverting to his previous struggles, where he netted once in the opening 19 matches.
From BBC
"I definitely saw a difference in my skin complexion and felt like I needed to keep up with it, because if I stopped, I would revert back to my original skin complexion," he said.
From BBC
She’s completely reverting back to being a little girl and doesn’t know how to deal with getting in trouble, and she’s not taking in what’s what’s going on; she’s completely disassociating.
From Los Angeles Times
Judges do not want to see reverts, where a trick has landed but the board is still spinning.
From BBC
“State-level mandates limit how much utilities can revert to long-term fossil dependence, even if federal authority is reduced.”
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
