rehabilitate

/ˈri(h)əˌbɪləˈteɪt/

/rihəˈbɪlɪteɪt/

Other forms: rehabilitated; rehabilitating; rehabilitates

If you have been in a bad accident or have an addiction problem, you may go away for a stretch of time to rehabilitate yourself or, in other words, bring yourself back to health.

Though we hear a lot about rehabilitation or "rehab" in the press in connection with drugs or alcohol, the word rehabilitate has a lot of other meanings. You can rehabilitate a building's structure by reinforcing it with steel beams, or rehabilitate your bad reputation by staying after school to help clean up the grounds.

Definitions of rehabilitate

1. verb

   restore someone to a good state of health or reputation
   “The prisoner was successfully rehabilitated”

   “After a year in the mental clinic, the patient is now rehabilitated”

   synonyms: rehab

   type of:

   reconstruct, restore

   return to its original or usable and functioning condition
2. verb

   restore to a state of good condition or operation
   type of:

   reconstruct, restore

   return to its original or usable and functioning condition
3. verb

   reinstall politically
   “Deng Xiao Ping was rehabilitated several times throughout his lifetime”

   antonyms:

   purge

   oust politically

   type of:

   reinstate

   restore to the previous state or rank