Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Nearby Entries
resile - 3 dictionary results

re⋅sile

  [ri-zahyl]
Use resile in a Sentence
–verb (used without object), -siled, -sil⋅ing.
1. to spring back; rebound; resume the original form or position, as an elastic body.
2. to shrink back; recoil.
Origin:
1520–30; < MF resilir < L resilīre to spring back; see resilient

Related forms:
re⋅sile⋅ment, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To resile
re·sile   (rĭ-zīl')   
intr.v.   re·siled, re·sil·ing, re·siles
  1. To spring back, especially to resume a former position or structure after being stretched or compressed.
  2. To draw back; recoil.

[Obsolete French resilir, from Latin resilīre, to leap back : re-, re- + salīre, to leap; see sel- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Resile

Re*sile"\ (r?-z?l"), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Resiled (-z?ld"); p. pr. & vb. n. Resiling.] [L. resilire to leap or spring back; pref. re- re- + salire to leap, spring. See Salient.] To start back; to recoil; to recede from a purpose. --J. Ellis.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Search another word or see resile on Thesaurus | Reference