Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Capable of returning to an original shape or position, as after having been compressed. synonym: flexible.
  • adjective Able to recover readily, as from misfortune.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having resilience; inclined to leap or spring back; leaping or springing back; rebounding.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Leaping back; rebounding; recoiling.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Able to endure tribulation without cracking.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like
  • adjective elastic; rebounds readily

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin resiliēns, resilient-, present participle of resilīre, to leap back; see resile.]

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Examples

  • The word "resilient" carries two definitions, both of which are applicable to the present efforts to alleviate the effects of the ongoing drought in the HoA and ensure systems that prevent future instances of food insecurity.

    Tom Murphy: USAID: Building Resiliency In The Horn of Africa Tom Murphy 2011

  • The word "resilient" carries two definitions, both of which are applicable to the present efforts to alleviate the effects of the ongoing drought in the HoA and ensure systems that prevent future instances of food insecurity.

    Tom Murphy: USAID: Building Resiliency In The Horn of Africa Tom Murphy 2011

  • A Pentagon report now says the Taliban has now regrouped into what it calls a resilient insurgency likely to step up attacks on U.S. troops and others.

    CNN Transcript Jun 27, 2008 2008

  • She has taken many blows to her body through sickness and to her heart through the deaths of so many of those close to her, and yet she has managed to remain resilient, engaged and wonderfully ebullient through it all.

    Lucille Clifton : Kwame Dawes : Harriet the Blog : The Poetry Foundation 2007

  • It is built low to the ground but it looks up, and I should think that it has a good chance to remain resilient and meaningful under well-nigh any future circumstance.

    Conscience and the Undergraduate 1955

  • "Defensively, I keep using the word resilient," Tigers coach Gene Chizik said on Tuesday.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • "Defensively, I keep using the word resilient," Tigers coach Gene Chizik said on Tuesday.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

  • The word resilient is at the core of much national security policy and it is again with cyber security.

    Latest News - Yahoo!7 News 2010

  • "Defensively, I keep using the word resilient," Tigers coach Gene Chizik said on Tuesday.

    The Seattle Times 2010

  • "Defensively, I keep using the word resilient," Tigers coach Gene Chizik said on Tuesday.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2010

Comments

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  • I like Brown's response (of course I do), but the second question disturbs me. The first question I think is a good one and I'd've liked to see that answer. The second question—it seems plaintive and a little pathetic to be asking such a thing of another country's leader. What was she thinking?

    Q: Would you compare what is happening to the United States I hope to God she meant to say "in" and not "to" to the period when Great Britain's influence eroded? which one? Do you think America will ever be again what it was?

    Prime Minister Gordon Brown: America is an incredibly resilient country. You've got tremendous strengths. You've got great entrepreneurs and some great companies. America will always be a strong country. I think the resilience that will be shown in the next period of time will just demonstrate America's great power and standing in the world.

    —"Britain's Comeback Kid," by Lally Weymouth, Newsweek, Nov. 3, 2008

    October 29, 2008