reconstitute
/riːˈkɒnstɪtjuːt
/verb [with object]
1Build up again from parts; reconstruct: his skeleton was reconstituted and exhibited in University College...
- Now, with his note cards for backup, he was reconstituting his original speech from memory.
- Although the DNA is likely to be damaged, there may be a chance that it can be identified, given that scientists have reconstituted DNA from Egyptian mummies.
- Specimens are rarely found in one unbroken piece, and the process of reconstituting them is akin to completing a jigsaw puzzle.
1.1Change the form and organization of (an institution): he reconstituted his cabinet...
- However, this Committee was not reconstituted after the Cabinet changes last autumn.
- The legislation aims to reconstitute the existing government postal department as a profit-making corporation - the first step towards the complete privatisation of the postal service.
- As a result, Liberal Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt was able to reconstitute a four-party coalition government in July 2003, this time with only the Liberals and Socialists in power.
2Restore (something dried) to its original state by adding water to it: (as adjective reconstituted) reconstituted milk...
- It was made by taking a lot of meat and boiling it lengthily, then reducing the liquid to a syrupy consistency, after which it would dry quite hard and keep well until the time came to reconstitute it with boiling water.
- Many of them consist mostly of dried milk (whey and casein fractions) and, as such, they're easy to preserve and taste relatively good when reconstituted in water, milk or other beverages.
- You reconstitute dried formula with water - although ‘ready-to-feed’ formula is also available in cartons.