reiterate
verb
Did you know?
Can you guess the meaning of iterate, a less common relative of reiterate? It must mean simply "to state or do," right? Nope. Actually, iterate also means "to state or do again." It's no surprise, then, that some usage commentators have insisted that reiterate must always mean "to say or do again AND AGAIN." No such nice distinction exists in actual usage, however. Both reiterate and iterate can convey the idea of a single repetition or of many repetitions. Reiterate is the older of the two words—it first appeared in the 15th century, whereas iterate turned up in the 16th century. Both stem from the Latin verb iterare, which is itself from iterum ("again"), but reiterate took an extra step, through Latin reiterare ("to repeat").
Examples of reiterate in a Sentence
Natalie Angier, New York Times Book Review, 24 Mar. 1991
Easy victories bring little satisfaction; repeated failures encourage reiterated effort, to the moment of ultimate gratification or ultimate resignation.
—Peter Gay, Style in History, 1974
Judge Douglas has again, for, I believe, the fifth time, if not the seventh, in my presence, reiterated his charge of a conspiracy or combination between the National Democrats and Republicans.
—Abraham Lincoln, debate versus Stephen A. Douglas, 7 Oct. 1858
"And are you glad to see me?" asked she, reiterating her former question, and pleased to detect the faint dawn of a smile.
—Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 1847
She avoided answering our questions directly, instead reiterating that the answers could be found in her book.
Allow me to reiterate: if I am elected, I will not raise taxes.
Tipranks.com Staff, CNBC, 26 Oct. 2025
The Israeli government has reiterated its call for Hamas to return the remains of all the hostages.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2025
Clark reiterated his belief that the Dodgers are not ruining baseball.
—Evan Drellich, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
Jon Caldara, the institute’s president, reiterated the argument that led the opposition toward Proposition FF in 2022.
—Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 25 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for reiterate
Cite this Entry
“Reiterate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/reiterate. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.
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reiterate
verb
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