Definition

1. Verb:
   • To integrate again; to bring back into a unified whole or system after a period of separation or exclusion: The action of restoring someone or something to a state of full participation or membership within a group, organization, or system from which they were previously separated.

Usage and Examples

• Verb:
  • The program aims to reintegrate former soldiers into civilian society. (The program's goal is to help soldiers become part of regular society again after military service.)
  • After the conflict, the government's priority was to reintegrate the disputed territories. (The government's main task was to bring the territories back into the national administrative and political system.)
  • Therapy can help individuals reintegrate traumatic memories into their life narrative. (Therapy can assist people in processing and incorporating difficult memories back into their understanding of their own history.)

Advanced Usage and Nuances

• Sociological/Political Context: Often used in discussions about social policy, post-conflict resolution, or criminal justice regarding the process of bringing individuals or groups back into the mainstream of society.
  • The success of peace talks depends on plans to reintegrate rebel fighters.
• Psychological Context: Can describe the process in psychotherapy of assimilating repressed or dissociated thoughts, feelings, or experiences back into conscious awareness.
  • The goal of the treatment is to help the patient reintegrate these split-off aspects of their personality.

Variants and Related Words

• Reintegration (noun): The process or result of being reintegrated.
  • Social reintegration is a key challenge after long-term imprisonment.
• Integrate (verb): The base verb meaning to combine or incorporate parts into a whole.
• Disintegrate (verb): The antonym, meaning to break into parts or lose cohesion.

Synonyms

• Reassimilate: To absorb or integrate again.
• Reincorporate: To include or integrate something again into a larger entity.
• Readmit: To allow entry or membership again (often used for organizations or countries).

Antonyms

• Exclude: To deny someone access or participation.
• Eject: To force out.
• Disintegrate: To break apart.
• Segregate: To separate or set apart.

Related Phrases and Usage

• Reintegrate into: This is the most common collocation, specifying the system or group being rejoined.
  • Efforts to reintegrate the country into the global economy are ongoing.
• Process of reintegration: A common phrase describing the often complex and lengthy steps involved.
  • The process of reintegration requires both practical support and societal acceptance.

Verb

1. integrate again
   • Russia must be reintegrated into Europe