3

I'm not satisfied with any of the suggestions for the antonym of revoke as given in http://thesaurus.com/browse/revoke.

None of the suggestions capture the meaning of "re-approving something that initially taken away due to infraction."

I am working on a web application where I have administrators revoke a user's privilege, and I use the word revoke to disable certain activities the user used to be able to perform.

When I want to give back the privilege, what word should I use? Grant? That seems like I'm giving the privilege in the first place. Reinstate? So far, this seems to be the best word, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate. Restore? I'm not sure if this word is specific enough.

Improve this question
3
  • 6
    When something that was previously revoked changes status to "reverse" the revocation, it would normally be reinstated. But you might use restored or reverted, for example. It somewhat depends on the exact sentence you want to use it in.
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 17:54
  • unrevoke? voke?
    – Oldcat
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 17:54
  • 1
    regrant might fit
    – ermanen
    Commented Mar 6, 2014 at 19:07

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
7

Reinstate is the most idiomatic term, in my opinion (for AE). It conveys both that access is being granted now and that it was revoked in the past.

Improve this answer

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.