rétablir

Rétablir is a French transitive verb meaning to return something to its previous state or condition, to restore, or to reinstate. It is used for health or well‑being, for order or conditions in a situation, and for reestablishing relations or rights. Common senses include rétablir la santé (to restore health), rétablir l’ordre (to restore order), and rétablir le contact ou rétablir la confiance (to reestablish contact or to restore trust).

Etymology and usage notes: the verb is formed with the prefix ré‑ added to établir (to establish). Établir itself comes from Old French establir, ultimately from a Latin root related to stabilire. Rétablir conveys a return to a prior state, rather than creating something new. It is widely used in formal and administrative language as well as in everyday speech.

Conjugation and forms: rétablir is a regular French verb in its meaning, but its inflected forms follow the pattern of other -ir verbs like établir. In the present tense: je rétablis, tu rétablis, il rétablit, nous rétablissons, vous rétablissez, ils rétablissent. The past participle is rétabli, used with avoir in compound tenses (j’ai rétabli). Imperfect: je rétablissais, tu rétablissais, il rétablissait, nous rétablissions, vous rétablissiez, ils rétablissaient. Future: je rétablirai, tu rétabliras, il rétablira, nous rétablirons, vous rétablirez, ils rétabliront. Subjunctive present: que je rétablisse, que tu rétablisses, qu’il rétablisse, que nous rétablissions, que vous rétablissiez, qu’ils rétablissent. The imperative forms are rétablis, rétablissons, rétablissez.

See also: établir, restaurer, réconcilier.