resilience
ri-ZIL-yuhnss
/rɪˈzɪl.i.əns/
The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties, tough situations, or trauma; psychological fortitude.
Implies bouncing back to original strength rather than merely enduring suffering.
The story behind the word. Derived from the Latin 'resilire', formed from 're-' (back) and 'salire' (to leap). It originally described physical materials bouncing back into shape after pressure before being applied to human temperament.
Word relationships
- fortitude: Fortitude is moral courage during pain; resilience emphasizes bouncing back.
- adaptability: Adaptability focuses on changing to fit new conditions; resilience focuses on recovery.
- fragility: Fragility denotes a state of easily being broken or damaged.
Commonly confused with
- resistance: Resistance is opposing external forces; resilience is recovering after being impacted.
Word family
- resilient (adjective): Able to recoil or spring back into shape; recovering quickly.
Collocations
- build resilience
- emotional resilience
- demonstrate resilience
- psychological resilience
Example sentences
- "Community support plays a critical role in fostering individual resilience after disasters." Psychology
Memory hook
RE-SILIENCE = RE-bounding like a SILKY spring. Leap back into shape.
When not to use
Do not confuse with stubbornness or mere physical strength.
Fun facts
- In physics and engineering, resilience measures the energy a material can absorb without permanent deformation.
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 → Sustainable Agriculture & Farming
- Environmental Policy & Sustainability Economics → Disaster Mitigation & Resilience
- Health Sciences → Mental Health & Well-being
- Military Science & Warfare → Veterans & Post-Conflict Trauma
- Psychology → Child & Adolescent Development
- Sports, Athletics & Recreation → Combat Sports & Martial Arts
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.