Revenant

//ˈɹɛvənənt// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone who returns from a long absence.

    "They would not visit this undesirable revenant with his insolent wealth and discreditable origin."

  2. 2
    someone who has returned from the dead wordnet
  3. 3
    A person or thing reborn.

    "Sometimes […] semi-identifications could be made on the basis of names. Henry VII's son Arthur was hailed as a revenant in this way."

  4. 4
    a person who returns after a lengthy absence wordnet
  5. 5
    A supernatural being that returns from the dead; a zombie or ghost.

    "For granting even that Religion were dead; that it had died, half-centuries ago, with unutterable Dubois; or emigrated lately, to Alsace, with Necklace-Cardinal Rohan; or that it now walked as goblin revenant with Bishop Talleyrand of Autun; yet does not the Shadow of Religion, the Cant of Religion, still linger?"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Returning.

    "On clear nights when the moon was full, she waited for its shining revenant ghost."

Adjective
  1. 1
    coming back wordnet
  2. 2
    of or relating to or typical of a revenant wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
apparitionappearanceastralbansheebete noirebogey

Example

More examples

"Leonardo DiCaprio won the Oscar for best actor for his role as Hugh Glass in The Revenant."

Etymology

19th century. From French revenant, the present participle of revenir (“to return”). Compare revenue.

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