Reinstate

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ɹiː.ɪnˈsteɪt/

Definitions

1. To restore someone or something to a previous status, job, or condition after it was lost or removed
2. To put back into an earlier role or condition, making it as it was before being changed or removed
3. To return a person or thing to a former position or state after a period of absence or suspension

Etymology: "Reinstate" is a plain compound: the prefix "re-" ("again, back") attached to "instate," which itself is "in-" plus "state." The verb thus means, quite literally, to put someone back into a state or position they once held. The core element, "state," comes from Latin "status," meaning a standing or condition, from the verb "stare," to stand. It passed into English through Old French "estat" and Middle English "stat," and in English the noun "state" carried the sense of a rank or position long before it meant a nation. "Instate," formed by prefixing "in-" to that noun, means to place someone in a rank, office or condition. Adding "re-," a Latin prefix that came into English via Old French, produced the verb "reinstate," which keeps the original sense of standing again. The word tends to be used for jobs, memberships and privileges that were withdrawn, which is the situation the "again" of the prefix describes.

Synonyms: restore, reestablish, return, reintroduce, reintegrate

Antonyms: remove, dismiss, displace, abolish, expel