Word
revert
Phoneticsre·vert, stress on the second syllable
US/ɹiˈvɝt/
UK/ɹɪvˈɜːt/
Definitions
01return to a former state
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to go back to a previous way of behaving, working, or being.
v. to return to a former condition, practice, or habit. Intransitive; typically takes the preposition 'to'.
“After the holiday, he quickly reverted to his old habit of waking up late.”
“Without consistent maintenance, the garden will eventually revert to its natural, overgrown state within a single season.”
02return to a topic
B2 · Upper Intermediate Formal
v. to start talking or thinking about a subject you were discussing before.
v. to return to a previous topic of discussion or thought.
“Let us revert to the original question about the budget.”
“The chairman requested that the committee revert to the main agenda once the minor points were settled.”
03legal return of property
C1 · Advanced Law Technical · Formal
v. when property or money goes back to its original owner.
v. to return to the possession of a former owner or their heirs. Intransitive; used in property and inheritance contexts.
“If the company closes, the land will revert to the local government.”
“Under the terms of the trust, the estate will revert to the surviving descendants if no immediate heir is identified.”
Synonyms
04to reply
B2 · Upper Intermediate Dialect
v. to answer a message or email.
v. to reply to a piece of correspondence or a query. Common in South Asian and Southeast Asian business English.
“I will check the files and revert to you by tomorrow morning.”
“The consultant promised to revert with a detailed proposal once the initial data had been reviewed by the technical team.”
Usage
Commonly used in the phrase 'revert to you' meaning 'get back to you'.
Teaching tip
This usage is standard in Indian and Singaporean business English but may be considered non-standard or confusing in British or American English.
05religious conversion
B2 · Upper Intermediate Religion
v. to return to a religion you followed before, or to join Islam.
v. to return to a former religion; specifically used by some to describe converting to Islam based on the belief that all are born with a natural faith.
“He decided to revert to the faith of his childhood after many years.”
“The community welcomed the new members who had chosen to revert after studying the theology for several months.”
Synonyms
06biological return
C2 · Proficiency Science Technical
v. when a plant or animal starts showing traits from its ancestors again.
v. to return to an earlier or primitive type; to take on the traits of an ancestral type.
“The variegated plant might revert to plain green if it does not get enough light.”
“Selective breeding is required to ensure the species does not revert to its wild-type characteristics over successive generations.”
Synonyms
07software roll-back
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Computing Technical
n. the act of changing a computer file or database back to how it was before.
n. the act of returning a database, source control repository, or software state to a previous version.
“The developer performed a revert to fix the errors caused by the last update.”
“After the deployment failed, the system administrator initiated a full revert to the last stable build to minimize downtime.”
Real-World Examples
“It will revert to a normal service on Monday.” “The bus fare cap in England will revert to £2, from the current £3 from January.” Etymology
From Old French revertir, from Vulgar Latin *revertiō, variant of Latin revertō.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/revert