revival

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   A return of something to strength, popularity or use after it had faded.

   Grammar: Countable for one event: a revival; uncountable in general: signs of revival.

   Patterns

   • a revival of something
   • a revival in something

   The town is enjoying a revival of interest in traditional crafts.

   Vinyl records have seen a revival in recent years.

   Local business has shown signs of revival since the new factory opened.

2. 2nouncountable

   A new performance of an old play, musical or film.

   Grammar: Often appears in theater news: a revival of a musical.

   Patterns

   • a revival of something

   A revival of the classic musical opens next month.

   Critics praised the revival for its fresh costumes.

   The cinema held a revival of silent films.

3. 3nouncountablereligion

   A meeting or series of meetings aimed at renewing religious faith.

   Grammar: Often seen in the compound revival meeting.

   Patterns

   • a revival meeting

   Hundreds attended the tent revival last summer.

   The preacher traveled from town to town holding revivals.

   A great religious revival swept through the region.

Word forms

Common combinations

economic revival

The new port could spark an economic revival.

a revival of interest

There has been a revival of interest in knitting.

stage revival

The stage revival ran for six months.

revival meeting

They attended a revival meeting each autumn.

enjoy a revival

Old board games are enjoying a revival.

Synonyms and how they differ

resurgence

Resurgence stresses a strong rising again, often of a movement, while revival can be gentler and also fits plays.

comeback

Comeback is informal and usually refers to a person or team returning to success.

renaissance

Renaissance suggests a major cultural rebirth, which is bigger than most revivals.

restoration

Restoration means returning something to an original state, not necessarily reviving popularity.

Opposites

Word family

revive verb

to bring back to life, strength or use

revivalist noun

a person who leads a religious revival

revivify verb

to give new energy to

reviver noun

a person or thing that revives

Commonly confused: revival or survival?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “revival”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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