Resilient

//ɹɪˈzɪl.jənt// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Returning quickly to original shape after force is applied; elastic. (of objects or substances)
  2. 2
    Returning quickly to original shape after force is applied; elastic. (of objects or substances); Having the ability to absorb energy when deformed.
  3. 3
    Returning quickly to normal after damaging events or conditions. (of systems, organisms or people)

    "He’s resilient, and strong, but sometimes tonight, here, the weight of what he’s saying makes him stop, pause as if lost."

  4. 4
    Returning quickly to normal after damaging events or conditions. (of systems, organisms or people); Having the ability to recover from mental illness, trauma, etc.; having resilience.
Adjective
  1. 1
    elastic; rebounds readily wordnet
  2. 2
    recovering readily from adversity, depression, or the like wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
elasticflexibleable to adaptadaptableadaptiveadjustable

Example

More examples

"I am quite worried about how resilient the Gulf of Mexico is. She's had some pretty dramatic traumas, and I'm worried how much the ecosystem can actually tolerate."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Italic *wre- Latin re- Proto-Indo-European *sel-der. Proto-Italic *saljō Latin saliō Latin resiliō Proto-Indo-European *-onts Latin -ns Latin -ēns Latin resiliēnsder. English resilient Borrowed from Latin resiliēns (“rebounding”, present active participle of resiliō).

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