Idiom Breakdown

put the genie back in the bottle

English negative polarity items

menu_book

Definition

To revert a situation; to put things back as they were before something (usually an unwelcome thing) became a reality.

chat_bubble_outline

In Context

"Near-synonym: unring a bell"
"People are very worried about artificial intelligence, but there's no way now to put the genie back in the bottle."

compare_arrows

Also Said As

account_tree

See Also