Reappropriate

//ɹi.əˈpɹoʊpɹieɪt// verb

verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To seize and reassign.
  2. 2
    To appropriate again.

    "Near-synonym: reassign"

  3. 3
    To reclaim a term that was previously used to disparage the reclaimers' own social group.

    "Once a term of homophobic abuse, the term “queer” has been reappropriated as a marker for some gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT), and other marginalized sexual identities."

Synonyms

All synonyms
reassignreclaimtake back

Example

More examples

"Once a term of homophobic abuse, the term “queer” has been reappropriated as a marker for some gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender (GLBT), and other marginalized sexual identities."

Etymology

From re- + appropriate.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.