Rebounded

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Moved backward by bouncing off a surface it struck ; recovered to a better condition after a decline or difficulty
2. Returned by springing back after impact with an object or surface ; showed improvement or regrowth following a negative event
3. Reflected or sprang away after contact with something solid ; regained strength, value, or status after a setback

Etymology: "Rebounded" is the past tense and past participle of "rebound," so the history belongs to the verb itself. The verb comes from Old French "rebondir," meaning to bounce back, built from the prefix "re-" (back, again) and "bondir," to leap or bound. The French base is itself a verb of jumping, and the English word kept that sense of a body springing off a surface. The English verb "rebind" is a separate word, meaning to bind again, and the two are sometimes confused in spelling. "Rebound" stayed rooted in the physical act of bouncing: a ball striking a wall and flying back. The figurative sense, recovering or improving after a setback, grew out of that image of something springing back up after being knocked down.

Synonyms: bounced, returned, recoiled, spring back, resumed

Antonyms: dropped, fell, declined, sank, subsided