resilient
rih-ZIL-yunt
/rɪˈzɪliənt/
Able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.
Focuses on the capacity to absorb shock, stress, or trauma and return to the original state of health or functionality.
The story behind the word. From Latin resilientem, from resilire 'to rebound, leap back,' from re- (back) + salire (to leap). Literally, it describes something that leaps back into its original shape after being compressed or stretched.
Word relationships
- buoyant: Buoyant emphasizes rising back to the top, while resilient emphasizes absorbing impact and recovering.
- fragile: Fragile describes something that breaks easily under pressure and cannot recover.
Commonly confused with
- resistant: Resistant means preventing damage from happening in the first place, while resilient means recovering after damage has occurred.
Word family
- resilience (noun): The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.
- resiliently (adverb): In a resilient manner.
Collocations
- resilient community
- resilient material
- highly resilient
Idioms & expressions
- bounce back
Example sentences
- "The local economy proved remarkably resilient, bouncing back within months of the devastating hurricane." Economic recovery
Memory hook
Think of a rubber band. No matter how hard you stretch it, it is resilient and leaps back to its original shape. Leaping back into shape after a hard stretch.
When not to use
Do not use to describe someone who is simply stubborn or refuses to change; resilient implies recovery, not rigidity.
Fun facts
- The term was originally used in physics and material science to describe metals that could absorb energy under impact before it was applied to human psychology.
Related words
Explore more words
resilience, restorative, adaptability, hardiness, adaptable, self-reliant
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.