Reinterpreting

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Providing a new explanation or understanding different from the original interpretation
2. Offering an alternative meaning by changing the way something is understood or explained
3. Changing the original meaning by examining or presenting something from a different perspective

Etymology: "Reinterpreting" is the present participle and gerund of "reinterpret," so it is simply the verb form of a word built from two parts: the prefix "re-", meaning "again" or "back," and "interpret." The base verb "interpret" came into English from Latin "interpretari," meaning to explain or translate, and the Latin ancestry of the prefix "re-" runs through the same stock of Latin word-building. Since "reinterpret" is formed directly from "re-" plus "interpret" in English, the core idea is plain: to take something already explained or understood and explain it again, often in a new way. That sense of revisiting is built into the prefix, which is why the verb is so readily used for reading a text, a law, or a historical event afresh.

Synonyms: reassessing, redefining, reexamining, reconsidering, recontextualizing

Antonyms: misinterpreting, misunderstanding