Meaning & use
retrained
Last updated
“retrained” is a form of “retrain”.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Having learned new skills for a different job or activity after previously doing something else.
Grammar: This is the past participle of 'retrain'. It can be used after 'have' or 'be' to form perfect tenses or passive sentences, e.g. 'She has retrained as a nurse.'
Patterns
- be retrained as something
- be retrained to do something
- retrained for a job
After the factory closed, many workers were retrained for jobs in healthcare.
He retrained as a teacher after spending ten years in banking.
The company offers grants to employees who want to be retrained in new technologies.
verbtransitive
Taught a new way of doing something, especially to replace old habits or methods.
Grammar: Often used for animals or people who need to change their behavior. It can be passive: 'The dog was retrained to stop jumping up.'
Patterns
- retrain someone to do something
- retrain an animal
The rescue dog was retrained to become a guide dog for the blind.
Some employees were retrained to use the new software after the upgrade.
She retrained her brain to think more positively after the accident.
Word forms
| third person singular | retrains |
|---|---|
| past tense | retrained |
| past participle | retrained |
| -ing form | retraining |
Common combinations
- be retrained as
- She was retrained as a paramedic after leaving the army.
- be retrained to do something
- The staff were retrained to handle customer complaints more effectively.
- retrained for a new career
- He got retrained for a new career in IT at the age of forty.
- fully retrained
- All the technicians are fully retrained on the latest safety procedures.
- retrained workers
- The government promised support for retrained workers in the coal industry.
Synonyms and how they differ
- reeducated
- Similar but often broader, suggesting learning general knowledge rather than specific job skills.
- reskilled
- Very close in meaning, but focuses on learning new skills for a current or future job, not necessarily a different one.
Word family
- retrain verb
- The base form, meaning to learn or teach new skills.
- retraining noun
- The process of learning new skills, often for a new job.
Commonly confused: retrained or untrained?
retrained vs untrained
Means 'not having been trained', the opposite of retrained. Don't confuse the two.
Practice
After losing his job, Tom ___ as a chef.
Choose one answer.
The sentence describes a completed action in the past, so the past tense 'retrained' is needed. 'Retraining' would need an auxiliary verb like 'was', and 'retrain' is the base form, which doesn't fit the past context.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “retrained”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.