MEANING
1. To grow again, or replace lost or damaged living tissue through new growth.
2. To restore a place, system, or person to renewed activity, strength, or vitality.
3. To renew a person morally or spiritually, especially through a religious transformation.
Use it for
describing a creature regrowing a damaged part; distinguishing regrowth from a mechanical repair; showing biological renewal in speculative prose; discussing new tissue replacing what was lostSeparates regrowing living tissue, restoring a place or system, and moral or spiritual renewal. Writing functions: Transformation / Renewal.
Words that belong together
- regenerate tissue
- regenerate a lost limb
- cells regenerate
On the page
The creature regenerated the damaged tissue, but the new skin remained silver.
She watched the translucent fin regenerate along the edge of the wound.
The reopened workshops began to regenerate the district without erasing its old lanes.
A week by the coast seemed to regenerate her interest in work she had nearly abandoned.
She doubted that one confession could regenerate a life spent in hatred.
Word forms
- Base
- regenerate
- Past tense
- regenerated
- Past participle
- regenerated
- Present participle
- regenerating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- regenerate
- Present continuous
- am/is/are regenerating
- Present perfect
- have/has regenerated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been regenerating
- Past
- regenerated
- Past continuous
- was/were regenerating
- Past perfect
- had regenerated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been regenerating
- Future
- will regenerate
- Future continuous
- will be regenerating
- Future perfect
- will have regenerated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been regenerating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
Usage notes
Verb: regenerate; regenerates; regenerated; regenerated; regenerating. Future: will regenerate. Can be transitive or intransitive for regrowth. A less common adjective regenerate describes moral or spiritual renewal. Register: neutral. Commonness: moderately common (qualitative editorial estimate, informed by dictionaries/corpus).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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