revise

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French réviser, from Latin revīsere, from re- + vīsere (“examine”), frequentative of vidēre (“see”).

verb

  1. To review, alter and amend, especially of written material.
    This statute should be revised.
    There has been a demand for a revised edition of my English Translation and Commentary of the Holy Qur′an since the end of the Second World War. 1951, Maulana Muhammad Ali, Preface to the Revised Edition: The Holy Quran: English Translation and Commentary, published 2011, unnumbered page
    1983, Willard Scott Thompson, Chapter 1: The Third World Revisited, Willard Scott Thompson (editor), The Third World: Premises of U.S. Policy, Revised edition, page 15, The chapter that deals specifically with singular examples is Daniel Pipes′ revised study of the Third World peoples of Soviet Central Asia.
    The best writers know better. They write a first draft not to show readers, but to discover what case they can make for their point and whether it stands up to their own scrutiny. Then they revise and revise until they think their readers will think so too. 2008, Wayne C. Booth, Gregory G. Colomb, Joseph M. Williams., The Craft of Research, 3rd edition, University of Chicago Press, page 203
  2. (UK, Australia, New Zealand) To look over again (something previously written or learned), especially in preparation for an examination.
    I should be revising for my exam in a few days.
    In revising your notes, you can also reorganize them so that they are more legible, better arranged, and in a more useful condition for subsequent reviews. 1957, Clifford Thomas Morgan, James Deese, How to Study, McGraw-Hill, page 16
    4 Is it necessary to revise vocabulary (= study it again for a second or third time)? 5 Is it better to revise vocabulary occasionally for long periods of time, or is it better to revise regularly for short periods of time? 2003, Stuart Redman, English Vocabulary in Use: Pre-Intermediate & Intermediate, 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, page 5
    2008, Tom Burns, Sandra Sinfield, Chapter 19: How to build your memory and revise effectively, Essential Study Skills: The Complete Guide to Success at University, SAGE Publications, UK, page 273.
  3. (obsolete) To look at again, to reflect on.

noun

  1. A review or a revision.
  2. (printing) A second proof sheet; a proof sheet taken after the first or a subsequent correction.
    The question is, not whether the revises of the Catalogue, which I was obliged to circulate prematurely, were faultless, but whether the alterations which I was desired to make would not render them worse. 1837, Anthony Panizzi, A letter to His Royal Highness the President of the Royal Society, on the New Catalogue of the Library of that Institution Now in the Press, page 30
    1869 August 16, Anthony Trollope, letter to W. H. Bradbury, 1983, N. John Hall (editor), The Letters of Anthony Trollope, Volume 1: 1835-1870, page 479, Looking back at the revises of Bullhampton it seems to me that the printers have fallen into some error as to the numbering of Chapters XXXIV—XXXV—XXXVI—which should have been XXXV—XXXVI— and XXXVII.
    1917, United States Congress: House Committee on Rules, Alleged Divulgence of President′s note to Belligerent Powers, page 1440, I still held the revises; kept them until the type was made up and went to the press, for final page proof.
    […]until I had corrected the proofs of the novel and seen the revises, so that the text was irrevocably fixed, before beginning the screenplay. 1997, David Lodge, The Practice of Writing, published 2011, page 219

Attribution / Disclaimer All definitions come directly from Wiktionary using the Wiktextract library. We do not edit or curate the definitions for any words, if you feel the definition listed is incorrect or offensive please suggest modifications directly to the source (wiktionary/revise), any changes made to the source will update on this page periodically.