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relive

[ree-liv] / riˈlɪv /




Frequently Asked Questions

What is another word for relive?
To relive something means to experience it again in some way—to reexperience it. Sometimes, relive means to vividly recall the experience in your mind, as if you’re living through it again. In this way, to relive is really to remember. Often, saying that you relived an event really means that a memory of it triggered the same emotions you felt during the original experience. Sometimes, we relive experiences in our dreams, and sometimes in flashbacks. When this happens, the mind recreates the experience from our memories. In movies like Groundhog Day, characters literally relive the same day over and over again—they repeat it again and again until Andie MacDowell falls in love with them.
How is relive different from reminisce?
The meanings of relive and reminisce can overlap. When you reminisce about past events, it’s often an intentional way of trying to relive them. Reminiscing is commonly done through talking about those events with other people who also experienced them, which can stir memories and emotions. But there are differences. Reminisce is always used in the context of fond memories, and reminiscing is always intentional, while relive can be used in positive contexts (fond memories) or negative ones (traumatic memories), and reliving an experience in your mind sometimes happens even when you don’t want it to.
Is it relive or re-live?
Like many other words that begin with the prefix re- (meaning “again”), relive is typically spelled without a hyphen. In some words that begin with the prefix re-, a hyphen is necessary to distinguish one word from another that would be spelled the same but has an entirely different meaning, such as resign (as in quit) and re-sign (as in sign again). This is not an issue with relive.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

If you joined the party during the reign of the Twilight Singers, this won’t sound drastically different; if you ignored the Twilight Singers but were waiting to relive “Gentlemen,” too bad.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

He was already looking forward to the end of his morning meeting so he and other football-loving colleagues could relive the match over another cup of coffee.

From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026

I think there’s a lot of beauty in being able to be together as young women and relive some of these memories, but also cheer her on as she continues developing further.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Americans need not relive the sacrifices of his era to appreciate the lesson.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

I’m not sure I could bear to relive the stupid, awful things I’ve done, to hear the words I said in spite, to remember the look on Tom’s face as I said them.

From "The Girl on the Train" by Paula Hawkins

In his new memoir, “Everything You Want Is on the Other Side of Hard,” runner Ken Rideout relives a physically grueling 2023 ultramarathon in the Gobi Desert.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2025

He relives the period of his boyhood when his abuela was there to greet him after school and impart to him the cultural heritage he was living apart from.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2025

She relives the events in her dreams, she says.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2024

Seattle Totems great Guyle Fielder admits the past week has been “overwhelming” as he relives a professional hockey career that ended a half-century ago.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2024

In other words, the song relives and retells the experiences of a child in another century and makes her story highly relatable to us today.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

She was hugely relived but said the process made her feel like she was not believed.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

“Over the course of many weeks during three separate trials, she relived unthinkably painful experiences in front of complete strangers,” said Bragg.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 2026

This was only Chelsea's third clean sheet in 12 matches and boss Enzo Maresca was relived to emerge unscathed for once.

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

It is relived daily through stories passed down, names found in tribunal transcripts and artifacts pulled from mass graves.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2025

That was when he relived the nightmare of the mauling and felt the ache of being alone, the fear, and yes, still, the anger.

From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen

He spends most of his time at the podium reliving 2018.

From Slate ● Oct. 20, 2026

By interrupting the repeated nighttime reliving of trauma, the treatment allowed many of them to sleep more peacefully.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

"Why did I sit and put myself through the pain of going to court, going through a trial, reliving everything because of evidence and watching it all happen again?" she said.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

But it hasn’t stopped her from reliving it all.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

I think I was reliving the memory of the first time I had flown with him rather than joining him in spirit again.

From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis


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