Reanimate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹiˈænɪmət/

Definitions

1. To restore life or consciousness to someone or something ; to revive or renew something that has fallen out of use or activity
2. To bring back to life or cause to regain awareness after death or unconsciousness ; to make something active or functional again after a period of dormancy
3. To cause a person or organism to live again or regain consciousness ; to reinvigorate or reactivate something that was inactive or obsolete

Etymology: "Reanimate" is simply "re-" attached to "animate," and the "animate" half carries most of the story. Its root is Latin "anima," meaning breath, life or soul, which is also the source of "animal" and "animus." To animate something was originally to breathe life into it, so "reanimate" literally means to breathe life into again. The verb seems to have taken shape in English from "re-" plus "animate," probably following the Medieval Latin "reanimāre" or the French "réanimer." Its meaning has narrowed over time: where it once meant general renewal of spirit or vigour, it now most often refers to restoring someone from unconsciousness or death, and in a looser sense to reviving something that has lain idle.

Synonyms: revive, resuscitate, restore, revitalize

Antonyms: kill, destroy, terminate