rehabilitate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
rehabilitates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rehabilitated,
past participle, past
-
rehabilitating
present participle
-
to restore to a condition of good health, ability to work, or the like.
-
to restore to good condition, operation, or management, as a bankrupt business.
- Synonyms:
- refurbish, reconstruct, recondition, restore, salvage
-
to reestablish the good reputation of (a person, one's character or name, etc.).
-
to restore formally to former capacity, standing, rank, rights, or privileges.
verb (used without object)
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rehabilitates,
present (3rd person singular)
-
rehabilitated,
past participle, past
-
rehabilitating
present participle
verb
-
to help (a person who has acquired a disability or addiction or who has just been released from prison) to readapt to society or a new job, as by vocational guidance, retraining, or therapy
-
to restore to a former position or rank
-
to restore the good reputation of
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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nonrehabilitationnoun
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rehabilitationnoun
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rehabilitatornoun
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nonrehabilitativeadjective
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rehabilitativeadjective
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unrehabilitatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rehabilitatesimple
-
rehabilitatessimple
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have rehabilitatedperfect
-
has rehabilitatedperfect
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am rehabilitatingprogressive
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are rehabilitatingprogressive
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is rehabilitatingprogressive
-
have been rehabilitatingperfect progressive
-
has been rehabilitatingperfect progressive
Past
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rehabilitatedsimple
-
had rehabilitatedperfect
-
was rehabilitatingprogressive
-
were rehabilitatingprogressive
-
had been rehabilitatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rehabilitate
1570–80; < Medieval Latin rehabilitātus, past participle of rehabilitāre to restore. See re-, habilitate
Explanation
If you have been in a bad accident or have an addiction problem, you may go away for a stretch of time to rehabilitate yourself or, in other words, bring yourself back to health. Though we hear a lot about rehabilitation or "rehab" in the press in connection with drugs or alcohol, the word rehabilitate has a lot of other meanings. You can rehabilitate a building's structure by reinforcing it with steel beams, or rehabilitate your bad reputation by staying after school to help clean up the grounds.
Vocabulary lists containing rehabilitate
"A Retrieved Reformation" by O. Henry
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Word Generation Social Studies - Complex Questions Related to American Democracy
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Frightful's Mountain
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"The Authority's specialised teams have begun the technical and operational assessment of the airport, its facilities and systems, in preparation for developing a plan to rehabilitate it," Hasri said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 9, 2026
But Epstein courted influence and rubbed shoulders with prominent individuals associated with both parties in his efforts to rehabilitate his reputation.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
If you bring them right now, it's easier to rehabilitate.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
The largest share, $235 million, will be used to rehabilitate the Delta-Mendota Canal, which carries water to farmlands.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 17, 2026
It is a place for raptors to rehabilitate.
From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers
If he rehabilitates successfully and develops his game after a fine debut season, he seems destined to become one of the world's leading strikers.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
“I’m usually not a guy who rehabilitates someone when he writes about them,” Wolff told David Remnick on the New Yorker Radio Hour in July.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 15, 2025
Its return will be “empowering” and restore “hope” as it supercharges conservation efforts and rehabilitates a vital piece of Māori cultural heritage.
From Slate ● Aug. 8, 2025
A mountain regional park and a conservation center that rescues and rehabilitates wildlife are also nearby.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2023
And can it be the heir of this miser, the dispenser of his wealth, who rehabilitates him thus?
From A Cardinal Sin by Eugène Sue
This looked like a humiliation ritual to me: Crowley wasn’t polling competitively even when he was actively campaigning, and it seemed unlikely that his brand could be rehabilitated with such little time left.
From Slate ● Aug. 17, 2026
The party rehabilitated him in the wake of Mao's death, tapping him for jobs at the Ministry of Petroleum and State Economic Commission.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Rhossi is the fourth sea turtle to be rescued and rehabilitated by the zoo over the past decade.
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
She was rehabilitated and released by the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, which is currently caring for yet another turtle found anchored to debris.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026
Started telling me how I shouldn’t worry, because Sister got him totally rehabilitated.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
Nonprofit developers have adopted a strategy of rehabilitating entire blocks at once, and violent crime has plummeted.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
Alcaraz’s been out rehabilitating a wrist he injured after winning the Australian Open in February.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Sea otter mentorship is at the forefront of a formal partnership between the Aquarium of the Pacific and Monterey Bay Aquarium, which has been rehabilitating sea otters since the 1980s, according to Long.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026
The veteran superstar had a back operation in September 2024 and was rehabilitating from that setback when he announced in March of 2025 that he had suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.
From Barron's ● Feb. 17, 2026
Because all I ever think about is Jamie, and I’m supposed to be working on rehabilitating my mental health.
From "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
