revive

/ɹɪˈvaɪv/

//ɹɪˈvaɪv// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"revive" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“revive” has 8 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,596. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,596
frequency rank, English
3,094
“R” headwords
8
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To cause (a person or animal) to recover from a faint; to cause (a person or animal) to return to a state of consciousness.

Corpus desk

Index EN-revive · revive · English

revive · rank #11,596 · 8 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,596
  • LEN-LONG 6 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 8 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,094
  • PHOTO-FINISH restart

Nearest frequency peer: restart (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “revive”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “revive” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

revive vs revue
67% similar
revive vs revoke
67% similar
revive vs revived
86% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for revive
PropertyValue
Headwordrevive
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ɹɪˈvaɪv/
Letters6
Frequency rank#11,596
Misspellings tracked8
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “revive”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).revivelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “restart” (#11,595), “rigorous” (#11,597), “reinforce” (#11,594). Among 3,094 “R” headwords, “revive” is #11,596. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 8 spelling variants around revive (IPA /ɹɪˈvaɪv/), averb. Corpus frequency is #11,596 among 3,094 “R” headwords. Wiktionary lists 19 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 8 likely wrong-spelling variants for revive, with forms such as "ervive", "reivve", and "reviev". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "revue", "revoke", "revived", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: The verb is derived from Late Middle English reviven, revyven (“to recover from illness; to regain consciousness; to return to life after death; to happen again, recur; to be rejuvenated, renewed; (figurative) to bring back; (alchemy) of a metal: to be rest… The correct English form is revive, spelled R-E-V-I-V-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    To cause (a person or animal) to recover from a faint; to cause (a person or animal) to return to a state of consciousness.
  2. 2
    To bring (a person or animal which is dead) back to life.
  3. 3
    To cause (something) to recover from a state of decline, neglect, oblivion, or obscurity; to make (something) active or lively again; to reanimate, to revitalize.
  4. 4
    To cause (a feeling, state of mind, etc.) to come back or return; to reactivate, to reawaken.
  5. 5
    To renew (something) in one's or people's memories or minds; to bring back (something) to (public) attention; to reawaken.
  6. 6
    To make (something which has become faded or unclear) clear or fresh again; to refresh.
  7. 7
    To restore (a metal (especially mercury) or other substance in a compound or mixture) to its pure or unmixed state.
  8. 8
    To give new validity to (a law or legal instrument); to reenact, to revalidate.
  9. 9
    To put on a new production of (a musical, play, or other stage performance; also, a film or television programme).
  10. 10
    To bring (someone) back to a state of health or vigour.
  11. 11
    To rerun (an election).
  12. 12
    To recover from a faint; to return to a state of consciousness.
  13. 13
    Of a dead person or animal: to be brought back to life.
  14. 14
    Of a person, animal, or plant: to return to a state of health or vigour, especially after almost dying.
  15. 15
    To recover from a state of decline, neglect, oblivion, or obscurity; to become active or lively again; to reanimate, to revitalize.
  16. 16
    Of a feeling, state of mind, etc.: to come back or return; to be reactivated or reawakened.
  17. 17
    Of a metal (especially mercury) or other substance in a compound or mixture: to return to its pure or unmixed state.
  18. 18
    Of a law or legal instrument: to be given new validity.
  19. 19
    Of a musical, play, or other stage performance; also, a film or television programme: to have a new production put on.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how revive appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Near-synonym: rescue
  2. Her grandmother said that if she lost consciousness, she would not want to be revived.

Etymology

The verb is derived from Late Middle English reviven, revyven (“to recover from illness; to regain consciousness; to return to life after death; to happen again, recur; to be rejuvenated, renewed; (figurative) to bring back; (alchemy) of a metal: to be restored to its original form”), from Anglo-Norman reviver, revivre (“to return to life after death; to rejuvenate, renew; to make (a law or legal document) valid again”), Middle French revivre, and Old French revivre (“to return to life after death; to rejuvenate, renew”) (modern French revivre), and directly from their etymon Latin revīvere, the present active infinitive of revīvō (“to live again”), from re- (prefix meaning ‘again’) + vīvō (“to be alive, survive; to live”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃- (“to live”)). The noun is derived from the verb.

Antonyms

deanimatedevitalizedevive

This word in other languages

revivir(Español)wiederbeleben(Deutsch)reavivar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ervive
  • reivve
  • reviev
  • revivve
  • revvie
  • revvive
  • rrevive
  • rveive

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of revive - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ervive2reivve2reviev2revivve1revvie2revvive1rrevive1rveive2
Edit distance from "revive"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "revive"?
"revive" is spelled R-E-V-I-V-E. The IPA pronunciation is /ɹɪˈvaɪv/.
What does "revive" mean?
As a verb, "revive" means: To cause (a person or animal) to recover from a faint; to cause (a person or animal) to return to a state of consciousness.
What words are commonly confused with "revive"?
"revive" is commonly confused with "revue", "revoke", "revived". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "revive"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "revive" is /ɹɪˈvaɪv/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "revive"?
The verb is derived from Late Middle English reviven, revyven (“to recover from illness; to regain consciousness; to return to life after death; to happen again, recur; to be rejuvenated, renewed; (figurative) to bring back; (alchemy) of a metal: ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "revive", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 6 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

ransom#11,588sleepy#11,608staple#11,611strand#11,615

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (8 here; floor ≥5).

scarf8 variantsskype8 variantstying8 variantszhang8 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list