What does "resilience" mean?
The mental ability to recover quickly from depression, illness or misfortune.
Resilience
/ɹɪˈzɪl.ɪ.əns/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The mental ability to recover quickly from depression, illness or misfortune.
- Grammar: resilience is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: adaptability, adaptability, adjustability, airiness.
- Useful contrasts: civilizational collapse, fragile reef ecosystem, fragilest.
- Usage evidence: In March 2014, the Administration launched the Climate Data Initiative, bringing together extensive open government data and innovation competitions to develop data-driven resilience tools for communities.
How to use "resilience"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "resilience" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "resilience" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "resilience" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "resilience" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "resilience" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "adaptability" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "resilience", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The mental ability to recover quickly from depression, illness or misfortune. countable, uncountable
"Martin Seligman's impressive body of research showed that a pessimistic explanatory style carves a path to depression, while an optimistic explanatory style leads to resilience."
- 2 the physical property of a material that can return to its original shape or position after deformation that does not exceed its elastic limit wordnet
- 3 The physical property of material that can resume its shape after being stretched or deformed; elasticity. countable, uncountable
- 4 an occurrence of rebounding or springing back wordnet
- 5 The positive capacity of an organizational system or company to adapt and return to equilibrium after a crisis, failure or any kind of disruption, including: an outage, natural disasters, man-made disasters, terrorism, or similar (particularly IT systems, archives). countable, uncountable
"Network Rail previously said it is determined to build upon the "significant changes" it has made since the accident, which have "helped us to manage the risk of severe weather to the network". It has invested millions to improve the resilience of the railway."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 The capacity to resist destruction or defeat, especially when under extreme pressure. countable, uncountable
Antonyms
Example
"In March 2014, the Administration launched the Climate Data Initiative, bringing together extensive open government data and innovation competitions to develop data-driven resilience tools for communities."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "resilience"?
Common synonyms include: adaptability, adaptability, adjustability, airiness, alterability, backfire.
How do you use "resilience" in a sentence?
In March 2014, the Administration launched the Climate Data Initiative, bringing together extensive open government data and innovation competitions to develop data-driven resilience tools for communities.
How do you pronounce "resilience"?
Pronounced /ɹɪˈzɪl.ɪ.əns/.
Etymology
From Latin resiliō (“to spring back”) + -ence.