reorient

verb

re·​ori·​ent (ˌ)rē-ˈȯr-ē-ˌent 

reoriented; reorienting

transitive verb

: to orient (someone or something) again or differently: such as

a

: to change the orientation or direction of (something or someone)

reorient the antenna

reoriented herself so she was facing north

b

: to reacquaint (someone, especially oneself) with a situation, environment, etc.

woke up and reoriented myself to my surroundings

… returning servicewomen and men struggling to reorient themselves to civilian life.

—Molly Callahan

c

: to change the goal or emphasis of (something or someone)

… I stumbled into motherhood and was bewildered at … the volte-face required to reorient myself, my values and my way of life …

—Madeleine Bunting

… lacks nearly every resource necessary to reorient its archaic industrial economy …

—David Remnick

The long-term potential of vast databases of genomic data to … reorient the debate on medical priorities …

—Larry Downes and Paul Nunes

also : to direct (something) toward the interests of a different group

… reorienting its policy priorities to the working class.

—Franklin Foer

reorientation

(ˌ)rē-ˌȯr-ē-ən-ˈtā-shən 

-ˌen-

noun

plural reorientations

Many soldiers also find blogging a useful way to help deal with reorientation to civilian life …

—Brad Knickerbocker

Examples of reorient in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Past Earth’s magnetic field supports biblical stories of destruction of ancient cities When battles raged in ancient cities, their rocks blazed so brightly that they could be reoriented according to Earth’s magnetic field. —Big Think, 24 June 2024

One of the most important changes managers and leaders can make is to be clear on what matters up and down the pipeline—and then reorienting operations and resources around making progress toward those goals. —Paolo Confino, Fortune, 12 June 2024

This is where homeland security professionals nationwide should reorient their work, as New York has under Gov. Hochul’s leadership: toward early, aggressive prevention of extremist and targeted violence. —Jackie Bray, New York Daily News, 18 May 2024

Like his forebears and theirs, rapping was a means to reorient his trajectory. —Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above