revive

revive — verb

1. to wake up and return to a healthy condition after being unconscious, very weak,

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to wake up and return to a healthy condition after being unconscious, very weak, or sick; or to make someone do this. The word is also used when something inactive or unsuccessful starts to be active, popular, or successful again — for example, an old tradition, a struggling business, or a weak economy.

Example

Nellie used a cold cloth to revive her grandfather after he fainted in the heat.

transitive: revive + person after fainting

Sumin revived slowly after the fever broke and she could finally eat again.

Common collocations
  • revive an economy
  • revive a tradition / custom
  • revive interest / enthusiasm
  • revive a business
  • revive a patient
  • slowly revive
  • revive from fainting / shock
Synonyms
  • resuscitate

    more specific and medical — used almost exclusively for restoring someone from unconsciousness or stopped breathing

  • restore

    broader in range, can apply to physical objects (restore a painting) or conditions (restore order); lacks the 'return from near-death' feel of revive

  • revitalize

    focuses on giving new energy or strength; more common with places, institutions, or economies than with people

  • reinvigorate

    slightly more formal than revive; emphasizes restoring energy and enthusiasm to a person, team, or system

Antonyms
  • suppress

    to stop something from being active or known

  • extinguish

    to end something completely, especially a feeling or activity

  • kill

    the direct opposite when life is involved

Grammar Patterns

revive + object (transitive)

revive (no object, intransitive)

Usage Note

Revive can be used both transitively (someone revives something or someone) and intransitively (something or someone revives). When the object is a person, it most often refers to restoring consciousness after fainting, shock, or a medical emergency. With inanimate subjects — an economy, a tradition, a business — it means becoming active or popular again after a period of decline.

Common Mistakes

The cold water survived the patient.
The cold water revived the patient.
'survive' means to continue living through a difficult situation; 'revive' means to restore someone to consciousness or health.
The government is recovering the old craft fair.' (when meaning bringing back).
The government is reviving the old craft fair.
'recover' means to get back something that was lost or taken; 'revive' means to bring something back to active use.

Word family

  • revival
    nounB2
  • reviving
    adjectiveC1
  • reviver
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

While all four words involve bringing something back to a better or more active state, 'revive' is the broadest — it can apply to a person regaining consciousness, an economy recovering, or a tradition being brought back. 'Resuscitate' is narrower and strongly medical: a paramedic resuscitates someone who has stopped breathing. 'Restore' is more general and can apply to physical objects (restore a building) or abstract conditions (restore confidence), but it does not carry the 'return from the brink' sense that 'revive' implies. 'Revitalize' emphasizes giving fresh energy, and is typical for places and systems (revitalize a downtown area). 'Reinvigorate' leans toward people and organizations (reinvigorate a tired team). For a person who faints, use 'revive' or 'resuscitate'; for a struggling industry, use 'revive' or 'revitalize'; for an old custom, use 'revive'.

restore ↗revitalizeresuscitatereinvigorate

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • efforts to revive
  • attempt to revive
  • help revive

Prepositions

  • from (revive from shock)
  • with (revive with water)

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Revive comes from Latin 'revivere' — 're-' (again) plus 'vivere' (to live). It entered English through Old French 'revivre' in the 1400s, carrying the same core meaning of coming back to life or use.