Meaning & use
reattachment
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Meanings
noununcountable
The act of fixing something back to the place or body it came off from, or the state of being fixed there again.
Grammar: Usually uncountable: reattachment is possible, but it can be countable when referring to a single procedure.
Patterns
- reattachment of something
- reattachment to something
Surgeons performed the reattachment of the severed finger within six hours.
The reattachment of the shelf required stronger screws.
After the fall, the dentist advised the immediate reattachment of the broken tooth.
noununcountableformal
A renewed emotional or social connection to a person, group or place after a period of separation.
Grammar: Often used in psychology or social writing with to: reattachment to a community.
Patterns
- reattachment to someone
Counselors encouraged the reattachment of the child to her foster family.
His reattachment to the neighborhood began when he joined the choir.
Veterans talked about the slow reattachment to civilian life.
Word forms
| plural | reattachments |
|---|
Common combinations
- surgical reattachment
- Surgical reattachment of the limb took eleven hours.
- successful reattachment
- Doctors hoped for successful reattachment of the nerve.
- reattachment surgery
- Reattachment surgery on the tendon went well.
- reattachment of the retina
- The patient needed urgent reattachment of the retina.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reconnection
- This stresses restoring a link, often in wires or relationships, and is less physical than reattachment.
- refixing
- This is a plainer word used for fitting something back with fasteners or glue.
- reunion
- This means people coming together again and does not refer to fixing a part.
- replantation
- This is a medical term specifically for putting a severed body part back.
Opposites
Word family
- reattach verb
- to attach again
- attach verb
- to fasten to something
- attachment noun
- something joined to something else; a feeling of closeness
- detach verb
- to separate
Commonly confused: reattachment or readjustment?
reattachment vs readjustment
Readjustment means changing something slightly to fit again, while reattachment means joining something back on.
Practice
After the accident, the surgeon discussed the ___ of the patient's thumb.
Choose one answer.
Reattachment means fixing a part back on, which fits a thumb; the others mean reappearing, rechecking or comforting.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “reattachment”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.