Resilient means able to recover quickly from difficulties, setbacks, or damage. A resilient person bounces back after problems instead of staying defeated. When you fail a test but study harder and improve your grade, you're being resilient. When a team loses a close game but practices with renewed energy, they're showing resilience.

Think of a rubber ball: when you throw it at the ground, it bounces right back up. That's what resilient things do. They don't break or stay damaged. They return to their original form or find a new way forward.

Resilient describes both people and things. A resilient forest regrows after a wildfire. A resilient bridge flexes in strong winds instead of collapsing. A resilient friendship survives arguments and disagreements. Engineers design buildings to be resilient against earthquakes, meaning they can absorb shaking and remain standing.

The related noun is resilience. Someone who faces hardship but keeps trying shows great resilience. Building resilience takes practice: learning from mistakes, staying determined when things get tough, and remembering that setbacks don't last forever. When life knocks resilient people down, they get back up, learn from what happened, and keep moving forward.