regenerate
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to grow new skin, bone, or body parts to replace ones that were lost or hurt.
v.to replace lost or damaged tissue through natural biological processes. Often used as an intransitive verb when referring to the organism's capability.
Simple“Some lizards can regenerate their tails if they are caught by a predator.”
In context“Stem cell research aims to discover how human organs might be induced to regenerate after significant trauma or disease.”
SynonymsregrowrenewAntonyms - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to make a place, like a city or a business, strong and successful again.
v.to revitalize or reconstruct an area, economy, or institution, typically following a period of decline.
Simple“The government plans to regenerate the old docklands by building new apartments and offices.”
In context“The council's primary objective was to regenerate the manufacturing sector, which had suffered decades of underinvestment and job losses.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
v.to experience a deep change in your soul or character to become a better person.
v.to undergo a spiritual or moral rebirth. Often used in religious contexts to describe a fundamental internal transformation.
Simple“He felt like a new man, as if his spirit had been completely regenerated.”
In context“The preacher spoke of the power of faith to regenerate even the most hardened hearts through divine grace.”
- 04 C2 Proficiency
adj.having been changed in a spiritual way to become a better person.
adj.having been spiritually reborn or restored to a better state. This form is non-gradable and typically appears in formal or theological writing.
Simple“The community welcomed the regenerate man back into their circle.”
In context“In his later essays, the author explores the perspective of a regenerate soul viewing the world with newfound clarity.”
“She starred in her first soap opera at 4 – then the hit show Heroes was totally reworked to allow her character, Claire the regenerating cheerleader, to live on.”
“Keratin extracted from sheep’s wool helped damaged bone regenerate in animals, producing tissue that was more organized and structurally similar to healthy bone than tissue grown with conventional collagen scaffolds.”
From Latin regenerātus, perfect passive participle of regenerō, from re- + generō, from genus, generis (“descent, origin, birth”); -ō, equivalent to re- + generate.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.