reversion

/rɪˈvɜrʒən/
noun
  1. A return to a previous state, condition, or practice.
    • The company's reversion to old policies surprised many employees.
    • After the diet, she experienced a reversion to her original eating habits.
    • The reversion to manual record-keeping was necessary after the computer crash.
  2. In law, the return of property to the original owner or their heirs after a lease or grant ends.
    • After the tenant moved out, the property underwent reversion to the landlord.
    • The land's reversion to the family occurred when the lease expired.
    • The lawyer explained the reversion clause in the contract.
  3. In biology, the reappearance of an ancestral characteristic in an organism.
    • The plant showed a reversion to its wild-type leaves.
    • The breeder observed a reversion in the flower's color pattern.
    • Genetic reversion can sometimes restore a lost trait.