Dictionary

rehabilitate en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ɹiː(h)əˈbɪlɪteɪt/ (UK)

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin rehabilitātus, perfect passive participle of Latin rehabilitō. See habilitate.

Meanings

1. (transitive) To restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.
2. (transitive) To vindicate; to restore the reputation or image of (a person, concept etc.).
3. (transitive) To return (something) to its original condition.
4. (Canada, US, transitive) To restore or repair (a vehicle, building); to make habitable or usable again.
   • Cumaratunga was so furious that he intensified his campaign for revitalizing the traditional practices of asweddumization, so that neglected arable land could be rehabilitated, and a degenerating economy restructured and rejuvenated. 1992, Alavattāgoḍa Pēmadāsa, Cumaratunga, the Unknown: Hidden Facets of His Scientific Profile, page 115:
   • Engineers are considering using the blowable insulation to rehabilitate residential buildings in Chicago under an Argonne partnership with Bethel New Life, a Chicago community economic initiative. 1996 November, “Doggone it, it's a new ceramic binder”, in DOE this Month, page 14:
5. (transitive) To restore to (a criminal etc.) the necessary training and education to allow for a successful reintegration into society; to retrain.
6. (transitive) To return (someone) to good health after illness, addiction, etc.
   • Patty Wahlers, 40, is the founder and director of Horse of Connecticut, an organization situated on a 46-acre farm in Washington that rescues and rehabilitates neglected horses and puts them up for adoption. 2002 March 24, Sherri Daley, “Finding Homes for Horses That Were Left for Dead”, in The New York Times:
7. (intransitive) To go through such a process; to recover.
   • Truman made us all feel welcome and relaxed as we shook hands with him. We sat around the desk, and he spoke very earnestly about the necessity of rehabilitating Europe and emphasized his concern that peaceful German production should be encouraged. 1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 43:

Forms

Deriveds

rehabilitant · rehabilitation · rehabilitatable · rehabilitative · rehabilitable · rehabilitee · rehab · rehabilitator

Synonyms

retrieve · restitute · mend · restrive · restore · remedy · correct · amend · right · revert · rectify · rehabilitate · fix · revamp · reform · renovate · put to rights · restore · fix up · fix · reconvert · restore · refurbish · make whole · furbish · patch · remediate · recondition · roll back · renew · renovate · roll back · deconvert

Translations (68)

de wiederherstellen (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · sv rehabilitera (to restore into society) · de wiederherstellen (to return to original condition) · tr iyileştirmek (to return to good health after illness) · gl rehabilitar (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · fi rehabilitoida (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · ro reabilita (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · de verteidigen (to restore the reputation or image of) · de reinwaschen (to restore the reputation or image of) · es rehabilitar (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · de rehabilitieren (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · de rekonstruieren (to restore or repair) · zh 康復 /康复 (to return to good health after illness) · mi whakamātūtū (to return to good health after illness) · mi whakanohonoho (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · pl rehabilitować (to restore the reputation or image of) · de resozialisieren (to restore into society) · fi kuntouttaa (to return to good health after illness) · fi kuntoutua (to recover) · pl zrehabilitować (to restore the reputation or image of) · pl rehabilitować (to return to good health after illness) · pt reabilitar (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · fi parantua (to recover) · de wieder einsetzen (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · fi palauttaa kunnia (to restore the reputation or image of) · de reaktivieren (to restore or repair) · de wiedereinsetzen (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · bg ремонтирам (to restore or repair) · sv rehabilitera (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · bg поправям (to restore or repair) · mi whakanohonoho (to restore into society) · mi whakaauraki (to restore into society) · fi kuntouttaa (to restore into society) · pl zrehabilitować (to return to good health after illness) · zh 復原 /复原 (to recover) · de reparieren (to restore or repair) · de wiedereinsetzen (to return to original condition) · zh 回歸 /回归 (to restore into society) · zh 回復 /回复 (to return to original condition) · de wieder nutzbar machen (to restore or repair) · de rehabilitieren (to restore into society) · de wieder eingliedern (to restore into society) · de restaurieren (to restore or repair) · uk реабілітува́ти (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · sv rehabilitera (to recover) · de rehabilitieren (to restore the reputation or image of) · fi kunnostaa (to restore or repair) · ro reabilita (to restore or repair) · bg реабилитирам (to restore the reputation or image of) · bg възстановявам (to return to original condition) · ru реабилити́ровать (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · bg реабилитирам (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · de wiederherstellen (to restore or repair) · fr réhabiliter (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · de wiedereingliedern (to restore into society) · de sich erholen (to recover) · it riabilitare (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · be рэабілітава́ць (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · ca rehabilitar (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · zh 修復 /修复 (to restore or repair) · de rehabilitieren (to return to good health after illness) · mi whakaauraki (to return to original condition) · fi palauttaa (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · pl rehabilitować (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · fi kunnostaa (to return to original condition) · pl zrehabilitować (to restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.) · de sanieren (to restore or repair) · bg възстановявам се (to return to good health after illness)