reconvene
C1Formal
Definition
Meaning
To meet or come together again after a pause or adjournment.
To bring together again, to resume a formal session or gathering.
Linguistics
Semantic Notes
Used almost exclusively for formal gatherings such as committees, parliaments, meetings, conferences, or court sessions. Implies a planned or expected resumption of a paused activity.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
No significant differences in meaning or usage. The word is equally formal in both variants.
Connotations
Official, procedural, institutional.
Frequency
Slightly higher frequency in British English due to the parliamentary and committee context, but widely used in American legal, corporate, and academic spheres.
Vocabulary
Collocations
Grammar
Valency Patterns
Intransitive: The court will reconvene at 2 pm.Transitive: The chairman reconvened the committee after the break.Vocabulary
Synonyms
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “Let's reconvene at a later date.”
- “The house will reconvene after the recess.”
Usage
Context Usage
Business
Used for scheduled committee or board meetings that pause and restart. 'The board will reconvene after lunch to vote on the proposal.'
Academic
Used for conferences, symposia, or formal research meetings. 'The symposium will reconvene tomorrow for the keynote address.'
Everyday
Rare in casual conversation. Might be used humorously for informal groups. 'Right, team, let's reconvene after the pizza arrives.'
Technical
Common in legal, parliamentary, and formal procedural contexts. 'The hearing will reconvene next Monday.'
Examples
By Part of Speech
verb
British English
- The select committee will reconvene after the summer recess to consider the new evidence.
- The chair reconvened the meeting when a quorum was present.
American English
- The jury will reconvene tomorrow to continue deliberations.
- The conference chair reconvened the session following the fire alarm.
adjective
British English
- The reconvened parliament faced an urgent new bill.
American English
- The reconvened session of Congress addressed the budget crisis.
Examples
By CEFR Level
- The meeting stopped for coffee and will reconvene in 15 minutes.
- The class will reconvene after the holidays.
- The committee decided to reconvene next Thursday to finalise the report.
- If we cannot reach a decision today, we will have to reconvene in a week's time.
- Following the unexpected disclosure of new documents, the tribunal was forced to reconvene after it had officially concluded.
- The assembly, having failed to achieve a quorum, was obliged to reconvene the following month with amended procedural rules.
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Think of RE (again) + CONVENE (come together). It's simply 'coming together again'.
Conceptual Metaphor
A JOURNEY INTERRUPTED AND RESUMED (the gathering/process is on a path that is paused, then continued).
Watch out
Common Pitfalls
Translation Traps (for Russian speakers)
- Не путать с "повторно созвать" (to convene again from scratch). "Reconvene" подразумевает возобновление существующей, прерванной встречи, а не созыв новой с теми же участниками.
Common Mistakes
- Using it for informal, spontaneous get-togethers (e.g., 'We reconvened at the pub' sounds overly formal).
- Incorrect: 'We will reconvene a new committee.' (Use 'convene' or 'form').
Practice
Quiz
In which context is 'reconvene' LEAST appropriate?
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Primarily, yes. While it can be used for smaller formal meetings (e.g., a project team), it sounds overly formal for purely social or spontaneous gatherings.
'Resume' is broader and means to start again any activity (work, a game, a journey). 'Reconvene' specifically means a group of people meeting together again, and is more formal.
Yes. Intransitive: 'The council reconvened.' Transitive: 'The chairperson reconvened the council.'
Not directly. The related noun is 'reconvening' (e.g., 'the reconvening of Parliament'), but it is less common than the verb.