regeneration

[ ri-jen-uh-rey-shuhn ]

See synonyms for regeneration on Thesaurus.com

noun

act of regenerating; state of being regenerated.
Electronics. a feedback process in which energy from the output of an amplifier is fed back to the grid circuit to reinforce the input.

Biology. the restoration or new growth by an organism of organs, tissues, etc., that have been lost, removed, or injured.
Theology. spiritual rebirth; religious revival.

Origin of regeneration

1300–50; Middle English regeneracion<Late Latin regenerātiōn- (stem of regenerātiō). See regenerate, -ion

Other words from regeneration

non·re·gen·e·ra·tion, noun

Words Nearby regeneration

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use regeneration in a sentence

Coltrane had another power, a power of self-regeneration that also has to do with that power of communication.
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest | Nat Hentoff | October 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
“I need clothes, and a big long scarf,” he says as he comes round from the regeneration.
Doctor Who’s ‘Deep Breath’: The 2,000-Year-Old Time Lord Grows Up | Nico Hines | August 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Other spinal cord regeneration efforts involve using stem cells to regrow damaged or lost neurons.
The Bionic Exoskeleton Helping Paraplegics Walk | Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD | June 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
They give him a potion that will let him pick his next regeneration.
A Primer For Doctor Who’s ‘Day of the Doctor’ Episode | Chancellor Agard | November 23, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
The regeneration of al Qaeda in Iraq and its expansion into Syria is a warning to American decision makers.
Zarqawism Lives: Iraq’s al Qaeda Nightmare Is Back | Bruce Riedel | August 12, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST

Absence of any attempt at blood regeneration explains the marked difference in the blood picture.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell Todd
And so did our patriots and leaders in the cause of regeneration know better, and never for a moment yielded to the base doctrine.
The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States | Martin R. Delany
But regeneration, and not re-organization, is experienced by him when he is enabled to lay hold of God's Covenant.
The Ordinance of Covenanting | John Cunningham
This hour gives to the imaginative in every land a thrill, a yearning, and a pang of visual regeneration.
The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil Fenollosa
He aided materially in the work of regeneration accomplished by the physician in the village.
Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe

British Dictionary definitions for regeneration

regeneration

/ (rɪˌdʒɛnəˈreɪʃən) /

noun

the act or process of regenerating or the state of being regenerated; rebirth or renewal
the regrowth by an animal or plant of an organ, tissue, or part that has been lost or destroyed

electronics the use of positive feedback to increase the amplification of a radio frequency stage

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for regeneration

regeneration

[ rĭ-jĕn′ə-rā′shən ]

The regrowth of lost or destroyed parts or organs.

a closer look

Regeneration of parts or, in some cases, nearly the entire body of an organism from a part, is more common than one might think. Many protists like the amoeba that have been cut in half can grow back into a complete organism so long as enough of the nuclear material is undamaged. Severed cell parts, such as flagella, can also be regrown in protists. New plants can be grown from cuttings, and plants can often be regenerated from a mass of fully differentiated cells (such as a section of a carrot root), which, if isolated in a suitable environment, turn into a mass of undifferentiated cells that develop into a fully differentiated organism. The capacity for regeneration varies widely in animals, with some able to regenerate whole limbs and others not, but the capacity is reduced significantly in more complex animals. Certain simple invertebrates like the hydra are always regenerating themselves. If cut into tiny pieces that are then mixed up, the pieces can reorganize themselves and grow back into a complete organism. Flatworms have the capacity to regenerate themselves from only a small mass of cells. If they are chopped up into fine pieces, each piece has the capacity to develop into an entire organism. Starfish, which are echinoderms, can regenerate their entire body from their central section and a single arm. Newts and salamanders can regenerate lost legs and parts of eyes, but many other amphibians such as frogs and toads cannot. Certain lizards can regenerate their tails. In many animals, these regenerated body parts are not as large as the originals but are usually sufficient to be functional. Many higher animals such as mammals regularly regenerate certain tissues such as hair and skin and portions of others such as bone, but most tissues cannot be regenerated. About 75 percent of the human liver can be removed, and it will regenerate into a functional organ. The physiological reasons for this are still not understood. Regeneration in this case takes the form of the enlargement of the remaining structures rather than the re-creation of the lost ones. Thus, there are four mechanisms for tissue regeneration in animals: the reorganization of existing cells (as in the hydra), the differentiation of stored stem cells into the specific tissues needed (as in the salamander), the dedifferentiation of neighboring tissue cells and their subsequent regrowth as cells of the needed type (as in plants as well as certain animals like the salamander), and the compensatory growth of the surviving cells of the specific tissue (as in the human liver). There is a great interest in stem cells because of their potential use in regenerating body tissues, such as nerve cells and heart muscle. The biochemical mechanisms for dedifferentiation are also the subject of intense study.

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