Meaning & use
rebaptize
Last updated
Meaning
verbtransitive
To baptize someone again, especially after a church does not accept their earlier baptism.
Grammar: Takes a person as object: they rebaptized her. Often used in the passive: he was rebaptized as an adult.
Patterns
- rebaptize someone
- be rebaptized as something
- rebaptize someone into a church
Some churches rebaptize adults who were sprinkled as infants.
After joining the new congregation, she was rebaptized in a river.
They refused to rebaptize him because they accepted his first baptism.
Word forms
| third person singular | rebaptizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | rebaptized |
| past participle | rebaptized |
| -ing form | rebaptizing |
Common combinations
- be rebaptized as an adult
- He was rebaptized as an adult after years away from the church.
- refuse to rebaptize
- The pastor refused to rebaptize anyone already baptized as a believer.
- rebaptize in a river
- The missionary rebaptized several new members in a river near the village.
- rebaptize into the church
- Candidates are rebaptized into the church during the Easter service.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: rebaptize or baptize? rebaptize or rehabilitate?
rebaptize vs baptize
Baptize is the base verb for a single ceremony; rebaptize is only for a second or repeated baptism.
rebaptize vs rehabilitate
Sounds vaguely similar but means to help someone recover or return to normal life, with no religious meaning.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'rebaptize' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Rebaptize' means to baptize again, so only the sentence about a second baptism fits. The shampoo and contract options use the word with no religious meaning, and the last one describes a civil naming, not baptism.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “rebaptize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.