What does reappointed mean?
Reappointed means to appoint someone again to a position or role they previously occupied. The word is especially common in reporting about governments, organizations, companies, committees, and other formal institutions, where appointments may be renewed or extended. It can suggest continuity, such as “the mayor was reappointed for a second term,” or restoration after a break, such as “the board reappointed its former chair.” The word is closely related to reappointment, the noun for the act or result of choosing someone again. Compared with reinstated, which emphasizes restoring someone to a former status, reappointed more specifically emphasizes the act of making a new appointment, even when the appointee and position remain unchanged. In everyday conversation, people may simply say appointed again, but reappointed is the more precise and formal term.
verbTo appoint someone to a position they previously held, especially after an interruption or as a repeated appointment. It can also mean to assign someone again to the same role or responsibility.
- To appoint someone again to a position they previously held.
- To assign someone again to the same role, office, or responsibility.
"The board reappointed the chair after her term had ended."
"The committee reappointed the treasurer at its annual meeting."
"After the committee's restructuring, the directors reappointed her as chief executive."
Reappointed is the political equivalent of a plot twist: the familiar officeholder returns, and the power does too.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does reappointed come from?
The word is formed from the prefix re-, meaning “again,” and appoint, which comes from Latin appointare, meaning “to arrange, set up, or appoint.” Reappoint has therefore developed the meaning of appointing someone again to an office. Its cognates include appointment, appointee, and appointer, all sharing the same Latin root.
Related word forms
How reappointed is actually used
Common in British and US English, especially in formal, institutional, political, and workplace contexts. It often implies that the person had held the position before, whether the previous appointment ended normally or was interrupted.
Easily confused with reappointed
“Reappointed” is the standard form of the verb, while “reappointed” is sometimes encountered as a less standard variant of the same word.
“Reappointed” means being selected for the position again, whereas “reinstated” means being restored to a former position or status.