Rehabilitate

verb

verb ·5 syllables ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc. transitive
  2. 2
    help to readapt, as to a former state of health or good repute wordnet
  3. 3
    To vindicate; to restore the reputation or image of (a person, concept etc.). transitive
  4. 4
    restore to a state of good condition or operation wordnet
  5. 5
    To return (something) to its original condition. transitive
Show 5 more definitions
  1. 6
    reinstall politically wordnet
  2. 7
    To restore or repair (a vehicle, building); to make habitable or usable again. Canada, US, transitive

    "Cumaratunga was so furious that he intensified his campaign for revitalizing the traditional practices of asweddumization, so that neglected arable land could be rehabilitated, and a degenerating economy restructured and rejuvenated."

  3. 8
    To restore to (a criminal etc.) the necessary training and education to allow for a successful reintegration into society; to retrain. transitive
  4. 9
    To return (someone) to good health after illness, addiction, etc. transitive

    "Patty Wahlers, 40, is the founder and director of Horse of Connecticut, an organization situated on a 46-acre farm in Washington that rescues and rehabilitates neglected horses and puts them up for adoption."

  5. 10
    To go through such a process; to recover. intransitive

    "Truman made us all feel welcome and relaxed as we shook hands with him. We sat around the desk, and he spoke very earnestly about the necessity of rehabilitating Europe and emphasized his concern that peaceful German production should be encouraged."

Synonyms

All synonyms
restoreaccount foramendchangeclearcorrect

Example

More examples

"Either we are forcibly bound up in the present, or we lose ourselves in the long gone-by, and seek back for what is utterly lost, as if it were possible to summon it up again, and rehabilitate it."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin rehabilitātus, perfect passive participle of Latin rehabilitō.

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.