Revival means bringing something back to life or popularity after it had faded away or disappeared. When a theater company stages a revival of an old musical like “The Music Man,” they're performing it again even though it hasn't been on Broadway for decades. When a fashion trend from the 1990s makes a comeback, that's a revival too.

The word originally comes from reviving something that was nearly dead or completely lifeless. A doctor might revive an unconscious patient, bringing them back to consciousness. A glass of cold water can revive someone who's exhausted from running in the heat.

In history, a revival often refers to a period when religious interest and enthusiasm surge after a time of decline. The Great Awakening was a religious revival in colonial America that brought thousands of people back to active faith.

You can revive all sorts of things: an old tradition, a dying language, a forgotten recipe, or even a conversation that had grown dull. When something experiences a revival, it gets a second chance at success and relevance. A canceled TV show might get revived years later because fans never stopped loving it. The key idea is renewal: taking something from the past that had value and giving it fresh energy for the present.