Word
lazarus
Phoneticslazarus
/ˈɫæzɝəs/
Definition
n. someone who comes back to life after being dead, or a person who becomes successful again after a total failure. It comes from a famous story in the Bible.
n. a person who recovers from a seemingly hopeless situation, such as a terminal illness or a total professional collapse. Alludes to the biblical figure raised from the dead by Jesus; often preceded by an indefinite article in this metaphorical use.
Examples
“The politician's comeback made him a political Lazarus.”
“After the company filed for bankruptcy, its sudden return to profitability was hailed as a Lazarus act by investors.”
“The tech startup, once considered a relic of the dot-com bubble, proved to be a corporate Lazarus by reinventing itself as a leader in artificial intelligence.”
Examples
simple
“The politician's comeback made him a political Lazarus.”
contextual
“After the company filed for bankruptcy, its sudden return to profitability was hailed as a Lazarus act by investors.”
complex
“The tech startup, once considered a relic of the dot-com bubble, proved to be a corporate Lazarus by reinventing itself as a leader in artificial intelligence.”
Usage
Often used metaphorically in journalism and business to describe unexpected recoveries.
Etymology
From Late Latin Lazarus, from Koine Greek Λᾱ́ζᾱρος (Lā́zāros), the given name of Biblical characters found in Luke 16 and John 12, from Biblical Hebrew אֶלְעָזָר ('El'azár), a given name shared by various figures in the Hebrew Bible and literally meaning "God has helped". Doublet of Eleazar.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/lazarus