revivir
/rebiˈbiɾ/
To revive in Spanish is revivir.
Revivir means to bring back to life. It can also be used figuratively to mean 'to relive' a memory or an experience. If you are specifically talking about reviving memories or nostalgia, you may use the verbs despertar (to awaken) or evocar (to evoke).
Meaning: transitive: to bring back to life (verb)
Which one should you use?
While revivir can mean to bring back to life, it is also used figuratively to mean 'to relive' a memory or an experience.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, the term reanimar may be substituted with animar or avivar to express reviving something or livening up a situation.
How does it change in a sentence?
The first-person singular preterite form is reviví (I revived). The third-person singular preterite form is revivió (he/she/it revived). The second-person plural imperfect indicative form is revivíais (you all [informal, Spain] revived).
How do you pronounce it?
/rebiˈbiɾ/
Did you know?
- The Latin root of revivir is revīvō, which shares the same ancestry as the English word 'vivid'. This is why both languages use similar sounds to describe something that is full of life or intense.
- In many Spanish-speaking cultures, if a party or a conversation feels 'dead' or boring, you wouldn't just 'revive' it, you would animar the crowd, which literally means to 'give soul' to the situation.
- While revivir means to bring back to life, if you are talking about a person who has fainted, a doctor in a medical setting would more likely use reanimar to mean performing CPR or bringing someone back to consciousness.
Examples in context
- ¿Cómo lograste hacer revivir estas orquídeas?How did you manage to revive these orchids?This sentence shows how to use revivir regarding plants.Tatoeba #11733996 by Seael, translation #13604655 by araneo
- Las redes sociales permiten a los hombres revivir su instinto de cazadores en manada, como la hiena.Social networks enable men to revive their instinct of pack hunters, like hyena.This sentence shows how to use revivir regarding instincts.Tatoeba #5822082 by albrusgher, translation #1035111 by sacredceltic
- Las plantas revivirán tras una buena lluvia.The plants will revive after a good rain.Tatoeba #855005 by Coyolxauhqui, translation #263825 by al_ex_an_der
- Juan está aprendiendo a resucitar a los pacientes utilizando nuevas técnicas médicas.Juan is learning to revive patients using new medical techniques.
- Con su cariño, María logró revivir mi amor por la poesía.With her affection, María managed to revive my love for poetry.
- Después de unos minutos, el paciente recuperó el conocimiento.After a few minutes, the patient regained consciousness.
- Después de ese golpe en la cabeza, tardó unos segundos en volver en sí.After that hit on the head, it took him a few seconds to come to his senses.
- Necesitamos reanimar esta fiesta, está demasiado tranquila.We need to liven up this party, it's too quiet.
Example conversation
Lucía and Mateo are discussing a character in a novel they are reading.
- LucíaEl autor quiere revivir a un personaje muerto.The author wants to revive a dead character.
- MateoEs una idea extraña para revivir la historia.It is a strange idea to revive the story.
- LucíaÉl lo hace para revivir la emoción del lector.He does it to revive the reader's emotion.
- MateoNo creo que logre revivir el interés así.I don't think he will manage to revive interest that way.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “revive” translations and entries revivir, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries revivir, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
