rehabilitate
ree-huh-BIL-ih-tate
/ˌriːhəˈbɪlɪteɪt/
To restore someone to health or normal life through training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness.
Implies a positive transformation and the restoration of a person's dignity or status, not just the cessation of bad behavior.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'habilis', meaning 'able' or 'fit.' To rehabilitate is literally to 'make someone fit again' for society. It was originally used in a legal sense to describe restoring a person's rank or rights.
Word relationships
- reform: Reform focuses on changing behavior, while rehabilitate focuses on restoring the person's capability and status.
- deteriorate: Deteriorate means to get worse, whereas rehabilitate means to make better or restore.
Commonly confused with
- recidivate: Recidivate is to fall back into crime; rehabilitate is to move away from it.
Word family
- rehabilitation (noun): The process of restoring someone to health or normal life.
- rehabilitative (adjective): Tending to rehabilitate.
Collocations
- rehabilitate offenders
- rehabilitate an image
- rehabilitation center
Example sentences
- "To rehabilitate is to restore to a former state of usefulness and social standing." Prison reform advocacy.
- "After the accident, she spent six months in a clinic to rehabilitate her injured leg." Physical therapy context.
Memory hook
Re-habilitate: To make their 'habits' 'able' again. Re-ability: Giving someone the ability to live normally again.
When not to use
Don't use for simply fixing a machine; use 'repair' or 'refurbish.'
Fun facts
- The word can also apply to buildings; 'rehabilitating' a historic house means restoring it to its former glory.
Related words
Explore more words
rehabilitation, restore, recuperate, remediate, restoration, remedial
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