revert
verb /rɪˈvəːt 
/
/1 [no object] (revert to) Return to (a previous state, practice, topic, etc.): he reverted to his native language he ignored her words by reverting to the former subject...
- If, for example, other people come back on to the council and there is an attempt to revert to the previous practices, I will have no hesitation but to move.
- Teachers were shown in the early stages of their teaching after the training to be utilizing the ideas, but eventually they reverted to previous practices.
- I just go back to this whole issue of reading speeches and express the hope that we might revert to previous Standing Orders, which forbade that practice.
Synonyms
return, go back, come back, change back, retrogress, regress, default;
fall back into, relapse into, lapse into, drift back into
archaic retrograde
1.1Convert to (the Islamic faith): I reverted to Islam five years ago...
- This results in the entire royalty reverting to Islam.
- My name is Amina and I reverted to Islam five years ago.
- In principle, if a woman reverts to Islam and her husband does not do so, her marriage will be invalidated immediately.
1.2 Biology Return to (a former or ancestral type): it is impossible that a fishlike mammal will actually revert to being a true fish...
- We checked in each of the 72 lineages whether the original mutation had reverted to its ancestral wild-type state by performing consensus population sequencing.
- Horses, too, have reverted to an ancestral state, with ‘all the fine breeds we had degenerated into the small mustang horse you know today’.
- They do look more like miniature aurochs, but that is because they have not been selectively bred for beef or milk, and cattle that have been left to their own devices will tend to revert to ancestral type.
1.3 Law (Of property) return to (the original owner) by reversion: in the event of the building ceasing to become a school, ownership would revert to the Church...
- Councils would carry out repairs if required and the property would revert to the owner once the cost of any renovation had been recovered.
- The landlord's interest in respect of possession of the property is deferred to that of the tenant until the lease terminates, at which time the property reverts to the landlord.
- When they came to an end, the property would revert to Mr Derby, or, if he was dead, would form part of his estate and devolve according to the terms of his will, or by the rules of intestate succession.
Synonyms
be returned;
Law fall, escheat
2 [no object] chiefly Indian Reply or respond to someone: we texted both Farah and Shirish, but neither of them reverted if interested, kindly revert with your updated resume...
- When we enquired about the victim, he placed us on hold and then reverted with complete details of the hospital and nature of injuries.
- To a request from the college that the civic authority construct a wall for the hostel, she said she would revert to the college after discussing it with the mayor.
- We messaged them, asking if they had consciously avoided each other at the party, but the two did not revert.
3 [with object] archaic Turn (one’s eyes or steps) back: on reverting our eyes, every step presented some new and admirable scene...
- Haley reverts her eyes to the cement edge of the pool, as her friend focuses on the swimmer approaching them.
- The two stared at each other for a moment, and then reverted their gaze to something else.
- Edmund reverted his attention to the front of the class, on hearing those words.
noun /ˈriːvəːt/
A person who has converted to the Islamic faith.I am a revert to Islam from a very orthodox Christian family....
- My wife is a revert to Islam and Alhamdulillah we try to practice deen twenty-four hours in our life.
Derivatives
reverter
- Until the changes brought about by the Reverter of Sites Act 1987, reverter was automatic once the triggering event had occurred.
- The grantor retains an interest in the land, known as the possibility of reverter, and when the determining event occurs the property reverts automatically to him.
- The reverter condition is seen by the Planning Officer as ‘a restrictive element’ reflecting BAe's case that the condition hampers the finding of a buyer for the site.
revertible
- The fact that ptn D is revertible by these two mutagenic agents supports our contention about its gain-of-function nature.
- A revertible shielding door pivotably and resiliently connected to a base is provided in the present invention.
- Genetic analysis showed that the green-revertible albino trait was controlled by a single recessive nucleic gene.
Origin
Middle English: from Old French revertir or Latin revertere 'turn back'. Early senses included 'recover consciousness' and 'return to a position'.