resilience
rih-ZIL-yuns
/rɪˈzɪl.jəns/
the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbance by resisting damage and recovering quickly.
Unlike 'sustainability,' which is about staying the same, resilience is about how a system handles a shock (like a drought or flood).
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'resiliens', the present participle of 'resilire' (to jump back or recoil). It was originally used in physics to describe how materials like springs behave. In the 1970s, it was adopted by ecologists to describe how nature 'bounces back'.
Word relationships
- adaptability: The ability to change to suit new conditions, a key part of resilience.
- elasticity: The physical ability of an object to return to its shape, used metaphorically here.
- fragility: The quality of being easily broken or damaged.
- vulnerability: The state of being exposed to the possibility of being attacked or harmed.
Commonly confused with
- sustainability: Sustainability is the goal of lasting; resilience is the ability to survive a disaster along the way.
Word family
- resilient (adjective): able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions
Collocations
- climate resilience
- ecosystem resilience
- build resilience
Example sentences
- "Resilience is the capacity of a system to absorb disturbance and reorganize while undergoing change." Ecological theory
- "Farmers are planting diverse crop varieties to increase the resilience of their food supply against climate change." Climate adaptation
Memory hook
Think of a rubber band—it has 'resilience' because it 'resiles' (jumps back) when stretched. Bouncing back.
When not to use
Don't confuse it with 'strength'; a strong system might break under pressure, while a resilient one bends and bounces back.
Fun facts
- The concept of 'ecological resilience' was first introduced by C.S. Holling in 1973, changing how we manage natural resources.
Related words
Also appears in
- Business → Work-Life Balance
- Business → Professional Development
- Technology → Ecology & Climate Science
- Psychology → Psychological Resilience & Coping
- Philosophy → Stoic & Classical Philosophy
- Engineering & Industrial Design → Civil Infrastructure
- Engineering & Industrial Design → Supply Chain Engineering
- Engineering & Industrial Design → Biomimicry in Design
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Disaster Mitigation & Resilience
- Health Sciences → Mental Health & Well-being
- Military Science & Warfare → Veterans & Post-Conflict Trauma
- Psychology → Child & Adolescent Development
- Psychology → Trauma & Coping Mechanisms
- Sports, Athletics & Recreation → Combat Sports & Martial Arts
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