Meaning & use
revert
Last updated
Meanings
verbintransitive
To go back to an earlier condition, habit or way of doing something.
Grammar: No object; usually followed by to: revert to old habits.
Patterns
- revert to something
- revert to type
After the holiday, he reverted to his old routine.
The river reverted to its natural course.
When tired, she reverts to her native language.
verbintransitivelegalspecialist
In law, to return to the previous owner or their heirs when a grant ends.
Grammar: No object; used of property: the land reverted to the family.
Patterns
- revert to someone
After her death, the house reverted to the estate.
The land will revert to the crown if no heir is found.
Unused rights revert to the author.
verbintransitiveIndianBritish
To reply or respond to someone, especially in business messages.
Grammar: Mainly Indian and British business English; used with to or alone: I will revert to you tomorrow.
Patterns
- revert to someone
- revert back
I will revert to you by Friday with the figures.
Please revert at your earliest convenience.
The vendor has not yet reverted to our query.
verbtransitive or intransitivecomputing
To return a document, setting or file to an earlier version.
Grammar: Often used in computing: revert the file, or the document reverted.
Patterns
- revert something to something
I reverted the settings to the factory default.
Click here to revert to the saved version.
The editor reverted my change.
Word forms
| third person singular | reverts |
|---|---|
| past tense | reverted |
| past participle | reverted |
| -ing form | reverting |
Common combinations
- revert to type
- Under stress, he reverted to type.
- revert to form
- The team reverted to form and lost again.
- revert to normal
- Prices should revert to normal soon.
- revert to a previous version
- You can revert to a previous version of the file.
- revert to old habits
- She tried not to revert to old habits.
Synonyms and how they differ
- return
- Return is the neutral everyday word, while revert suggests slipping back to something earlier, often unwanted.
- relapse
- Relapse describes slipping back into illness or a bad habit, which is more negative than revert.
- regress
- Regress means moving backward to a less developed state, which is more critical than revert.
- go back
- Go back is plain and conversational, whereas revert is a little more formal.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: revert or convert? revert or reverse?
revert vs convert
Convert means to change something into a new form. Revert means to go back to the former one.
revert vs reverse
Reverse means to turn something around or go backwards, while revert means to return to an earlier state.
Practice
After a week abroad, the toddler ___ to speaking only her first language.
Choose one answer.
Reverted means went back to an earlier state, which fits returning to her first language. Converted implies changing into something new.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “revert”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.