resile
Americanverb (used without object)
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to spring back; rebound; resume the original form or position, as an elastic body.
-
to shrink back; recoil.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of resile
1520–30; < Middle French resilir < Latin resilīre to spring back; see resilient
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:
"She does not resile from anything she said then. This email was sent in the context of advice the Duchess was given to try to assuage Epstein and his threats."
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2025
"Though ministers need not resile from previously stated views when directly asked about them, they should exercise discretion and should not take part in the public debate," he said.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2024
We've also seen him resile from some of the threats or claims he made during the campaign...
From BBC ● Dec. 16, 2016
The strict dictionary definition of "resile" is "draw back, recoil . . . return to its original position as an elastic body."
From Time Magazine Archive
He was instructed that he must resign both, or neither; resigned both; fell out with the Consuls on details; and is now, as we are advised, seeking to resile from his resignations.
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. 18 (of 25) by Robert Louis Stevenson
There is no resiling from his admiration for George Bush, who is lauded as a man of "genuine integrity" and "a true idealist".
From The Guardian ● Sep. 4, 2010
One purpose of resiling is to wait for one's antagonist to commit a blunder that weakens him, or a provocation that provides the Resiler with a casus belli.
From Time Magazine Archive
Some might call it "dithering," others "muddling through," but the Foreign Office likes to call it "resiling."
From Time Magazine Archive
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
