resilience

re·sil·ience

noun \ri-ˈzil-yən(t)s\

Definition of RESILIENCE

1

: the capability of a strained body to recover its size and shape after deformation caused especially by compressive stress

2

: an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

Examples of RESILIENCE

1. The rescue workers showed remarkable resilience in dealing with the difficult conditions.
2. Cold temperatures caused the material to lose resilience.
3. … the concert remained a remarkable tribute to Dylan's resilience and continued relevance. —Susan Richardson, Rolling Stone, 15 Dec. 1994
4. He squeezed the rubber with a clamp and then released it—demonstrating with this painfully simple experiment that the material lost its resilience and therefore its ability to flex rapidly enough to protect the rocket joint from tumultuous hot gases. —James Gleick, New York Times Book Review, 13 Nov. 1988
5. With amazing resilience the two tribes pulled together and set out to found a new town farther up the river. —Carolyn Gilman, American Indian Art Magazine, Spring 1988
6. It is really wonderful how much resilience there is in human nature. Let any obstructing cause, no matter what, be removed in any way, even by death, and we fly back to first principles of hope and enjoyment. —Bram Stoker, Dracula, 1897

Origin of RESILIENCE

(see resilient)

First Known Use: 1824

Other Physics Terms

amplitude, centrifugal, centripetal, convection, gradient, hysteresis, kinetic, lase, quantum