resilience

Also re·sil·ien·cy

[ri-zil-yuhns, -zil-ee-uhns]

noun

1. the power or ability of a material to return to its original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.

2. the ability of a person to adjust to or recover readily from illness, adversity, major life changes, etc.; buoyancy.

3. the ability of a system or organization to respond to or recover readily from a crisis, disruptive process, etc..

   Cities can build resilience to climate change by investing in infrastructure.

Other Word Forms

• nonresilience noun
• nonresiliency noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of resilience¹

First recorded in 1620–30; resili(ent) + -ence

Example Sentences

"Sport and PE is the vehicle. My real job is to create personalities, confidence and resilience," she tells me.

From BBC

Centre Meg Jones, who missed out on the world player of the year award to Canada's Sophie de Goede, praised England's resilience.

From BBC

Congress and leaders around the world must match local resilience with political will.

From Salon

Tottenham showed great resilience to come back late on to rescue a point at Brighton last week.

From BBC

According to the government, Moderna is investing more than a £1bn in UK research and development as part of a 10-year partnership to create new treatments jobs and boost pandemic resilience.

From BBC

Related Words

• flexibility