revitalise

revitalise — verb

1. to make something active, lively, or successful again after it has been in a wea

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to make something active, lively, or successful again after it has been in a weak, inactive, or poor condition

Example

The new park helped revitalise the city centre, bringing back shoppers and cafés.

used for urban areas and public spaces

After a long holiday, Shirin felt completely revitalised and ready to return to work.

passive: be revitalised for personal energy

Common collocations
  • revitalise the economy
  • revitalise a city centre
  • revitalise a company
  • revitalise a neighbourhood
  • revitalise a relationship
  • feel revitalised
  • completely revitalised
  • help revitalise
Synonyms
  • revive

    stronger focus on bringing back from near-collapse; can apply to consciousness or fainting

  • reinvigorate

    especially about giving fresh energy to a person or team; slightly more informal

  • rejuvenate

    suggests making something look or feel younger, not just more active

  • renew

    broader meaning — can simply mean 'start again' without the sense of restoring vitality

Antonyms
  • drain

    to remove energy or life from something

  • weaken

    to make something less strong or effective

Grammar Patterns

revitalise + noun phrase

Usage Note

Often used for places (cities, areas, buildings), organisations (companies, institutions), or people's energy levels. Frequently appears in the passive form 'be revitalised'. Common in business, urban planning, and personal-wellness contexts.

Common Mistakes

The rain revived the dry garden.' (when meaning 'made it lively again').
The rain revitalised the dry garden.
'revive' usually means bringing back from unconsciousness or near-death, while 'revitalise' means restoring energy and liveliness.
The government plans to revitalize the economy.' (American spelling).
The government plans to revitalise the economy.
In British English the correct spelling is '-ise', not '-ize'.

Word family

  • revitalisation
    nounB2
  • revitalised
    adjectiveB2
  • revitalising
    adjectiveB2
  • vital
    adjectiveB2
  • vitality
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words describe making something better or stronger after decline, but they differ in what kind of improvement they highlight. 'Revive' is the most dramatic — it means bringing something back from the edge of collapse or unconsciousness (e.g. 'efforts to revive a failing business'). 'Reinvigorate' puts the emphasis on restoring energy and enthusiasm, especially for people or teams (e.g. 'a morning run reinvigorated her'). 'Rejuvenate' suggests making something feel younger, fresher, or more attractive (e.g. 'a new hairstyle rejuvenated her look'). 'Renew' is the broadest and least intense — it can mean simply starting again or replacing something (e.g. 'they renewed their friendship after years apart'). 'Revitalise' sits in the middle: it implies restoring active life and success to something that has become weak or inactive, whether that is a place, a business, or a person's energy.

revive ↗reinvigoraterejuvenaterenew ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • help revitalise
  • aim to revitalise
  • need to revitalise

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

Formed in English from the prefix 're-' (meaning 'again') and 'vital' (from Latin 'vitalis', meaning 'of or relating to life', itself from 'vita' meaning 'life'), plus the verb-forming suffix '-ise'. The word entered English usage in the mid-1800s. The American spelling 'revitalize' with '-ize' became common in the 20th century.