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rekindle

verbC1Occasional — familiar, but not everyday · #10,447 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: rekindled, rekindling, rekindles

To rekindle is to light again, or to revive a feeling. Rekindle the fire, rekindle a friendship, rekindle interest.

The figurative use is much the commoner, and rekindling a romance is the phrase every headline uses. It implies the thing had gone out entirely rather than merely faded.

Definitions of rekindle

  1. 1verbrekindleTo light again, or to revive a feeling.C1

    “A trip back to Italy rekindled her love of painting.”

rekindle is a reviving.

Where it comes from

  1. Proto-Germanic

    *kundijaną

  2. Old Norse

    kynda — to inflame

  3. Middle English

    kyndelen

  4. English

    kindle

  5. English, today

    rekindle

From re- + kindle. kindle comes from Middle English kyndelen, from Old Norse kynda (“to inflame”), from Proto-Germanic kundijaną.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

rekindle in the wild

  • The cattle are then driven between the two fires, from which glowing embers are taken to rekindle the cold hearths in the houses.

    Need-fire

  • Torches from the bonfire would be carried home and used to rekindle the hearth fires.

    Need-fire

  • In the film, the Rubble family is prompted to take Fred and Wilma to Rockapulco for their anniversary vacation, in an attempt to rekindle their troubled marriage.

    The Flintstones: On the Rocks

  • The lyrics depict Tyler asking her ex-lover to rekindle their relationship.

    Fools Lullaby

  • Freeman and Loe play divorced couple Martin and Diane Daniels who rekindle their relationship after Diane begins a temping job at Martin's firm.

    Yesterday's Dreams (TV series)

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

Related words

the kynda family

kindlingrekindlekindle

rekindle — used about once every 6,207 pages · #10,447 · point at the bar for the others