What does reanimation mean?
Reanimation is the act of restoring life, consciousness, or animation to something that appears lifeless, or of bringing a dormant process or institution back into active existence. Its most familiar use is fictional and sensational: in stories about corpses, vampires, and other beings restored after death, reanimation is the process that makes the impossible return possible. In medicine, the word can refer to resuscitation procedures for a person in cardiac arrest, although resuscitation is more usual in contemporary clinical language. The word also has a broader metaphorical sense, as in the reanimation of an old debate or campaign. These metaphorical uses often carry a hint of artificial or temporary revival. Reanimation is formal and relatively uncommon; revival is usually more idiomatic when discussing ideas, traditions, or activities. The word is especially memorable because it joins a practical concern with one of the oldest human imaginings: the attempt to restore life to the dead.
nounThe restoration of life or animation to a person or thing that appears dead, lifeless, or inactive; the revival of a dormant process, practice, or institution.
- The restoration of life or animation to a person who appears dead or lifeless.
- The revival of a dormant process, institution, practice, or state of activity.
"The emergency team continued reanimation, but the patient did not recover."
"The emergency team continued reanimation, but the patient did not recover."
"The novel uses reanimation to explain why its murdered victim returns to life."
The countable plural is reanimations, though the word is more often used in the singular or as an uncountable process.
"The series imagines a series of successful reanimations in a hidden laboratory."
From Frankenstein to modern zombie tales, reanimation turns the oldest human wish—bringing the dead back to life—into a recurring literary nightmare.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reanimation come from?
Reanimation was formed in English by combining the Latin prefix re-, meaning “again,” with animation. Animation comes from Latin animātiō, an action or process associated with animāre, “to quicken or give life to,” from anima, meaning “breath, soul, or life.” The same root appears in words such as animate, animism, and animosity, as well as the cognate Latin animus, meaning “spirit” or “mind.”
How reanimation is actually used
Reanimation is formal and relatively uncommon. In medicine, it may describe attempts to restore a person whose heart or breathing has stopped; in fiction and folklore, it usually means bringing a dead person back to life. For the revival of an institution, tradition, or idea, revival is generally more idiomatic.
Easily confused with reanimation
Animation is the state or quality of being alive or lively, whereas reanimation is the process of restoring life or activity to something that has become lifeless or inactive.
Resuscitation usually denotes clinical measures intended to restore breathing or circulation, while reanimation is broader and is especially associated with fictional or metaphorical revivals.