renovate

re·no·vate
R1E1N1O1V4A1T1E1
UK/ˈɹɛn.nə(ʊ).veɪt/US/ˈɹɛn.ə.veɪt/

verb

To renew; to revamp something to make it look new again.

“This house is shabby: it needs renovating.”

Similar
vamp uprestituterefurbishfreshen upanimaterecreatereanimaterevive
OriginMiddle English renovat(e) ← Latin renovātus →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

verbrenovate (third-person singular simple present renovates, present participle renovating, simple past and past participle renovated)

present singular third person renovates · participle present renovating · participle past renovated · past renovated

  1. transitiveTo renew; to revamp something to make it look new again.

    This house is shabby: it needs renovating.

    Synonyms: vamp up

  2. transitiveTo restore to freshness or vigor.

    All shall relent Who hear me—tears as mine have flowed, shall flow, Hearts beat as mine now beats, with such intent As renovates the world; a will omnipotent! […] And power shall then abound, and hope arise once more.

    1817 December, Percy Bysshe Shelley, “The Revolt of Islam. […]”, in [Mary] Shelley, editor, The Poetical Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. […], volume I, London: Edward Moxon […], published 1839, →OCLC, page 202
adjectiverenovate (comparative more renovate, superlative most renovate)

comparative more renovate · superlative most renovate

  1. obsoleterenovated

Synonyms & antonyms

verbTo renew; to revamp something to make it look new again.

Similar
vamp up

More synonyms by meaning

verbrestore to a previous or better condition

Similar
restitute
Broader
regeneraterenew

verbmake brighter and prettier

Similar
refurbishfreshen up
Broader
regeneraterenew

verbgive new life or energy to

Similar
animaterecreatereanimatereviverepairquickenvivifyrevivifycome toresuscitate
Broader
stimulatearousebrace
Also see
animatecorrectfix upfreshen upmendmodernizequickenreanimaterecreaterefurbishrehabilitaterepairrestituterestorereviverevivifyvivify

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Latinrenovātus
  2. Middle Englishrenovat(e)“renewed”
  3. Englishrenovate

The adjective first attested in 1440, the verb in 1535; from Middle English renovat(e) (“renewed”), from Latin renovātus, perfect passive participle of renovō (“to renew”), see -ate (verb-forming suffix). Participial usage up until Early Modern English.

More words from Middle English, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian възстановявам, реставрирам
  • възстановявам (văzstanovjavam)to renew; to revamp
  • реставрирам (restavriram)to renew; to revamp
  • освежавам (osvežavam)to restore to freshness or vigor
  • подновявам (podnovjavam)to restore to freshness or vigor
Catalan renovar
  • renovarto renew; to revamp
Chinese Mandarin 裝修 /装修, 修復 /修复
  • 裝修 /装修 (zhuāngxiū)to renew; to revamp
  • 修復 /修复 (xiūfù)to renew; to revamp
  • 翻新 (fānxīn)to renew; to revamp
Dutch renoveren
  • renoverento renew; to revamp
Esperanto renovigi
  • renovigito renew; to revamp
Finnish peruskorjata, saneerata
  • peruskorjatato renew; to revamp
  • saneeratato renew; to revamp
  • remontoidato renew; to revamp
  • virkistääto restore to freshness or vigor
French rénover, remettre à neuf
  • rénoverto renew; to revamp
  • remettre à neufto renew; to revamp
German renovieren, erneuern
  • renovierento renew; to revamp
  • erneuernto renew; to revamp
  • restaurierento renew; to revamp
Greek ανακαινίζω
  • ανακαινίζω (anakainízo)to renew; to revamp
Hebrew שִׁפֵּץ
  • שִׁפֵּץ (shipétz)to renew; to revamp
Hungarian renovál, felújít
  • renoválto renew; to revamp
  • felújítto renew; to revamp
Irish athnuaigh
  • athnuaighto renew; to revamp
Italian rinnovare
  • rinnovareto renew; to revamp
Japanese 改装する, 修築する
  • 改装する (kaisō-surú)to renew; to revamp
  • 修築する (shūchiku-surú)to renew; to revamp
  • 更改する (kōkai-surú)to renew; to revamp
Latin renovo
  • renovoto renew; to revamp
Māori whakahou, mekemeke
  • whakahouto renew; to revamp
  • mekemeketo renew; to revamp
  • whakahauorato restore to freshness or vigor
Norwegian Bokmål pusse opp
  • pusse oppto renew; to revamp
Polish remontować
  • remontowaćto renew; to revamp
Portuguese renovar, renovar
  • renovarto renew; to revamp
  • renovarto restore to freshness or vigor
Russian ремонти́ровать, обновля́ть
  • ремонти́ровать (remontírovatʹ)to renew; to revamp
  • обновля́ть (obnovljátʹ)to renew; to revamp
  • восстана́вливать (vosstanávlivatʹ)to renew; to revamp
Spanish renovar, remozar
  • renovarto renew; to revamp
  • remozarto renew; to revamp
  • renovarto restore to freshness or vigor
Swedish renovera, restaurera
  • renoverato renew; to revamp
  • restaurerato renew; to revamp
  • renoverato restore to freshness or vigor
  • restaurerato restore to freshness or vigor
Tagalog isaayos
  • isaayosto renew; to revamp
Turkish yenilemek, onarmak
  • yenilemekto renew; to revamp
  • onarmakto renew; to revamp
Ukrainian оновлювати, обновляти
  • оновлювати (onovljuvaty)to renew; to revamp
  • обновляти (obnovljaty)to renew; to revamp
  • оновити (onovyty)to renew; to revamp
  • обновити (obnovyty)to renew; to revamp
Vietnamese tu sửa
  • tu sửato renew; to revamp

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

overneat
Cite this entry
APA

renovate. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/renovate

MLA

“renovate.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/renovate. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “renovate,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/renovate.

Source: renovate on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.