Word of the Day:

August 8, 2021

resilience

noun rih-ZIL-yunss

What it Means

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

Resilience in Context

Cold temperatures caused the material to lose resilience.

"Luis Rojas has long preached the gospel of resilience. He talks about it when the Mets come from behind, or when yet another player goes down with an injury." — Laura Albanese, Newsday (New York), 2 July 2021

More example sentences

Did You Know?

In physics, resilience is the ability of an elastic material (such as rubber or animal tissue) to absorb energy (such as from a blow) and release that energy as it springs back to its original shape. The recovery that occurs in this phenomenon can be viewed as analogous to a person's ability to bounce back after a jarring setback. The word resilience derives from the present participle of the Latin verb resilire, meaning "to jump back" or "to recoil." The base of resilire is salire, a verb meaning "to leap" that also pops up in the etymologies of such sprightly words as sally and somersault.

Quiz

Fill in the blanks to complete an adjective derived from Latin salire that can mean "not having a plan or purpose" or "done without serious effort": d _ _ ul _ _ _ y.

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