Home › Psychology › Psychological Resilience & Coping › resilience

resilience

ruh-ZIL-yuhnss /rɪˈzɪl.jəns/

nounB2GRESATTOEFLIELTS

formalacademicgeneral

The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, hardship, or trauma; physical elasticity.

Emphasizes the ability to 'bounce back' to an original state after deformation or psychological strain.

The story behind the word. The term originated in 17th-century physics to describe material elasticity—literally how a spring leaps back when compressed. By the 20th century, psychologists borrowed the metaphor to explain human minds that withstand severe emotional stress without permanently breaking.

Word relationships

elasticity: Elasticity focuses more on physical flexibility, while resilience highlights recovery from stress.
durability: Durability means resisting damage entirely, whereas resilience involves absorbing impact and restoring balance.

fragility: Fragility implies breaking easily when subjected to external pressure.
vulnerability: Vulnerability denotes susceptibility to physical or emotional harm.

Commonly confused with

fortitude: Fortitude is emotional strength during suffering, whereas resilience emphasizes returning to equilibrium afterwards.

Word family

resilient (adjective): Able to recoil or spring back into shape after bending or stretching; recovering quickly.
resiliently (adverb): In a manner characterized by quick recovery from hardship.

Collocations

demonstrate resilience
build resilience
psychological resilience
remarkable resilience

Idioms & expressions

bounce back from adversity

Example sentences

"Psychological resilience allows individuals to adapt to systemic hardship without suffering permanent psychological collapse." Psychological analysis of post-traumatic growth.
"Oak trees capability to bend in severe tempests demonstrates natural resilience." Literature citation on human endurance.

Memory hook

Think of a SILK band that RESINGS back into shape after being pulled. Re-leap back into shape.

When not to use

Do not use to describe passive endurance without recovery or growth; use 'stubbornness' or 'stagnation' instead.

Fun facts

In material science, resilience is defined precisely as the maximum energy that can be absorbed per unit volume without permanent deformation.