revivify means to reanimate, bring back to life.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, revivify ranks #2,340 of 14,361 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,592 of 14,423 for Most Sublime Words, #7,100 of 14,440 for Most Satisfying to Say, #7,102 of 14,448 for Funniest Words.
revivify is pronounced /ɹiːˈvɪvɪfʌɪ/.
Why “revivify” is a great word
To impart new life, energy, or vigor, actively restoring it to a state of vitality. From Latin *revivificare*, from *re-* ("again") + *vivificare* ("to make alive"), from *vivus* ("alive") and *facere* ("to make"); attested in English from the 1670s, from French *revivifier*. Unlike "revive," which can denote a simple reawakening from dormancy, or "resuscitate," which implies urgent, clinical intervention, to *revivify* is to suffuse with a potent and concrete animating force. It is the spring rain that transfigures a parched landscape into emerald, the master restorer’s brushstroke that returns luminous depth to an Old Master’s cloud, or the conductor coaxing a sluggish orchestra into sudden, brilliant tempo—a testament to the quiet miracle that some essences, once gone, can be actively called back and remade.
Etymology
Partly from French revivifier and partly from Latin revīvificō, corresponding to re- + vivify.
verb
- To reanimate, bring back to life.“His pure tight skin was an excellent fit; and closely wrapped up in it, and embalmed with inner health and strength, like a revivified Egyptian, this Starbuck seemed prepared to endure for long ages to come, and to endure always, as now; […]”
- To reinvigorate or revitalize.“Near-synonym: rejuvenate”
- To reactivate (a catalyst, reagent etc.).
- To become effective again as a reagent etc.
Words closest in meaning
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