Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To restore to good health or useful life, as through therapy and education.
- transitive verb To restore to good condition.
- transitive verb To cause to be regarded again in a positive way; reestablish esteem for.
- transitive verb To restore the former rank, privileges, or rights of.
from The Century Dictionary.
- To restore to a former capacity or standing; reinstate; qualify again; restore, as a delinquent, to a former right, rank, or privilege lost or forfeited: a term drawn from the civil and canon law.
- To reëstablish in the esteem of others or in social position lost by disgrace; restore to public respect: as, there is now a tendency to rehabilitate notorious historical personages; Lady Blank was rehabilitated by the influence of her family at court.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To invest or clothe again with some right, authority, or dignity; to restore to a former capacity; to reinstate; to qualify again; to restore, as a delinquent, to a former right, rank, or privilege lost or forfeited; -- a term of civil and canon law.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- verb restore to a state of good condition or operation
- verb reinstall politically
- verb help to readapt, as to a former state of health or good repute
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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They were friends who happened to train with the same coach, when Dede invited Michael in late 1997 to her home in Boulder, Colo., to rehabilitate from a broken hip and back, suffered in two bike accidents in France, where he was living.
USATODAY.com - These Olympians carry a torch for each other 2004
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To rehabilitate is to restore to a former constructive capacity or condition.
Obsession John Douglas 1998
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To rehabilitate is to restore to a former constructive capacity or condition.
Obsession John Douglas 1998
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It’s easy for non-victims to scream "rehabilitate" - but sometimes becoming a victim yourself can change your point of view dramatically.
7 CHS Students Beat, Urinate on Fellow Student at cvillenews.com 2002
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Now he would get a fine or, at most, a chance to "rehabilitate" himself.
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Now he would get a fine or, at most, a chance to "rehabilitate" himself.
Don McNay: What Are We Going to Do About Gambling Addicts? 2010
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He ` s going to need a whole lot more than Oprah in order to kind of rehabilitate his image, but it ` s certainly a great step in the right direction.
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The Servants played a big role in the crisis, but my research has shown that they only began to "rehabilitate" offenders after the secret system that had kept abuse covered for centuries had been inadvertently destroyed by Vatican II.
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Perhaps the biggest tactical surprise last week was defense lawyer Robert Baker's decision not to question Simpson immediately, or "rehabilitate" him, in trial parlance.
Stream Of Denials 2008
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But after the shaky direct examination last year, it was especially critical for the defense to "rehabilitate" Simpson in the eyes of the jurors.
The Trial Winds Down 2008
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