- re|gen´er|ate|ness
- re|gen|er|ate «verb. rih JEHN uh rayt; adjective, noun. rih JEHN uhr iht», verb, -at|ed, -at|ing, adjective, noun.–v.t.1. to give a new and better spiritual life to: »
Being converted regenerated the man. The doctrine of the Church is, that children are regenerated in holy baptism (Charles Kingsley).
2. Figurative. to improve the moral condition of; put new life and spirit into; reform completely: »a band of Christian reformers, coming to purify and regenerate the land (Washington Irving).
3. to grow again; form (new tissue, a new part, etc.) to replace what is lost: »If a young crab loses a claw, it can regenerate a new one.
4. Electronics. to increase the amplification of, by transferring a portion of the power from the output circuit to the input circuit.5. Physics. to cause (a substance) to return intermittently to its original state or condition.6. to make use of (pressure, heat, energy, force, or some material) that would normally be unused: »They were testing a Boeing system for regenerating oxygen for space crews (New Scientist).
–v.i.to reform; be regenerated: »Blood vessels regenerate very quickly (Bernard Donovan).
–adj.1. born again spiritually.2. Figurative. made over in better form, especially as formed anew morally.–n.Biology. a regenerated part, organ, or organism: »We would…retrain both head and tail regenerates to see if either half showed any evidence of the prior conditioning (New Scientist).
╂[< Latin regenerāre (with English -ate1) make over < re- again + generāre to produce. Compare etym. under generate. (Cf. ↑generate)]–re|gen´er|ate|ly, adverb.–re|gen´er|ate|ness, noun.
Useful english dictionary. 2012.
