Reconstructed

How to spell reconstructed

13 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce reconstructed

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does reconstructed mean?

1. verbBuilt, assembled, or formed again after damage or loss.
2. adjectiveDescribing something that has been rebuilt or recreated to resemble its earlier form.

Reconstructed in a sentence

• verb

  Engineers reconstructed the bridge within a year of the flood.

• adjective

  The reconstructed facade matched the original building almost exactly.

• verb

  Investigators carefully reconstructed the sequence of events before the crash.

• adjective

  Tourists walked through the reconstructed medieval market square.

Where does reconstructed come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the past form of 'reconstruct', which joins the prefix 're-', meaning 'again', to 'construct'. The verb 'construct' descends from the Latin construere, 'to heap together' or 'to build', a compound of con-, meaning 'together', and struere, meaning 'to pile up' or 'to arrange'. The same struere root quietly underlies a whole family of English words, including 'structure', 'instruct', and 'destroy', so the 'struct' core is a reliable spelling anchor. English began using 'reconstruct' in the early 1700s for the literal act of rebuilding, and it soon stretched to cover the figurative work of piecing events or evidence back together. Because the word is assembled from familiar, transparent parts, the spelling tends to follow the meaning: build (struct) it again (re-), with con- 'together' sitting between them.

How the word is built

• re- (again)
• con- (together)
• struct (build)
• -ed (past tense/participle)