Word of the Day

: March 31, 2012

resile

verb rih-ZYLE

What It Means

: recoil, retract; especially : to return to a prior position

resile in Context

The politician said he was sorry that his comments had caused offense, but he stopped short of resiling from his position.

"Conservatives should not resile from talking about this subject on moral as well as practical grounds." - From an editorial in The Daily Telegraph (London), January 28, 2012

Did You Know?

"Resile" is a resilient word; it's been around in English since at least 1529. It's also a cousin of "resilient" - both words derive from the Latin verb "resilire,” which means to "jump back" or "recoil." ("Resilire" in turn comes from "salire," meaning "to jump.") "Resilient" focuses on the ability of something to "bounce back" from damage, whereas "resile" generally applies to someone or something that withdraws from an agreement or "jumps back" from a stated position. "Resile" is a word that shows up only occasionally in U.S. sources; it is more common in British and especially Australian English.