repatriate
ree-PAY-tree-ayt
/riːˈpeɪtrieɪt/
To send or bring someone back to their own country.
Repatriate can refer to a government returning refugees to their home nation, or an individual choosing to return home after living abroad. It carries strong legal and bureaucratic connotations.
The story behind the word. Formed from the Latin prefix 're-' (back) and 'patria' (fatherland), the word literally means 'to return to the fatherland.' Historically, it applied to soldiers returning home after long campaigns abroad, carrying the emotional weight of reuniting with family and soil.
Word relationships
- return: Return is a general term for going back anywhere, while repatriate specifically means returning to one's native country.
- restore: Restore means to bring back to a former state or position, whereas repatriate is strictly geographical and national.
- expatriate: Expatriate means to send someone out of their native country, or to choose to live outside of it.
- exile: Exile means to banish someone from their home country, the exact opposite of bringing them back.
Commonly confused with
- deport: Deporting is the expulsion of an unwanted foreigner, whereas repatriating is the act of returning someone to their rightful homeland.
Word family
- repatriation (noun): The act of returning someone or something to their country of origin.
Collocations
- repatriate citizens
- repatriate funds
- forcibly repatriate
- repatriate artifacts
Example sentences
- "After the peace treaty was signed, both nations agreed to repatriate all prisoners of war within ninety days." A diplomatic agreement post-conflict.
- "The museum decided to repatriate the ancient sculptures to their country of origin, acknowledging they had been taken illegally." Returning cultural artifacts.
Memory hook
Re-pat-riate: 'Re' (return) to your 'Pat' (father/patria). Returning to the fatherland.
When not to use
Do not use for simply returning a borrowed item or going home at the end of a workday.
Fun facts
- In finance, 'repatriation' refers to the process of converting foreign currency or investments back into the currency of one's home country.
Related words
Explore more words
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.