Definition

1. Noun:
   • The ability to recover quickly from difficulties, toughness: The capacity to withstand or adapt to challenging life events, stress, or adversity and return to a state of well-being.
   • The physical property of a material to return to its original form after being bent, stretched, or compressed: The elasticity or springiness of an object that allows it to absorb energy and regain its shape without permanent deformation.

Examples of Usage

• Psychological/Emotional Context:

  • Her resilience helped her overcome the loss of her job. (Her ability to recover helped her overcome the loss of her job.)
  • The community showed remarkable resilience after the natural disaster. (The community showed a remarkable ability to recover after the natural disaster.)

• Physical/Material Context:

  • The resilience of the rubber ball allows it to bounce very high. (The springiness of the rubber ball allows it to bounce very high.)
  • This steel alloy is valued for its strength and resilience. (This steel alloy is valued for its strength and its ability to return to shape.)

Advanced Usage

• "Resilience in the face of...": The quality of being resilient when confronted with a specific challenge.

  • His resilience in the face of criticism is admirable. (His toughness when confronted with criticism is admirable.)

• "To build resilience": To develop or strengthen the capacity to recover from difficulties.

  • Regular exercise can help build physical and mental resilience. (Regular exercise can help develop physical and mental toughness.)

• "A test of resilience": A situation that challenges one's ability to recover or endure.

  • The difficult project was a true test of the team's resilience. (The difficult project was a true challenge to the team's ability to endure.)

Variants and Related Words

• Resilient (adjective): Having the quality of resilience.

  • She is a very resilient person. (She is a person with great ability to recover.)
  • Resilient materials are used in construction. (Materials that can return to shape are used in construction.)

• Resiliency (noun): A less common synonym for resilience, with identical meaning.

  • The resiliency of the ecosystem is being studied. (The ability of the ecosystem to recover is being studied.)

Synonyms

• Toughness: The state of being strong and not easily damaged or defeated.
• Durability: The ability to withstand wear, pressure, or damage.
• Elasticity: The ability of an object or material to resume its normal shape after being stretched or compressed.
• Fortitude: Courage and strength in facing pain or adversity.

Related Phrases

• Bounce back: To recover quickly from a setback (a phrasal verb conceptually related to resilience).
  • It took time, but she managed to bounce back from her illness. (It took time, but she managed to recover from her illness.)

Related Idioms

• To have a thick skin: To be insensitive to criticism or insults (related to emotional resilience).

  • Politicians need to have a thick skin. (Politicians need to be resilient to criticism.)

• To roll with the punches: To adapt to difficulties as they arise (related to adaptive resilience).

  • In this business, you have to learn to roll with the punches. (In this business, you have to learn to adapt to difficulties.)

Noun

1. an occurrence of rebounding or springing back
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