Rebounds

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Moves back quickly after striking a surface or object ; recovers or returns to a better state after a decline or problem
2. The action of springing back from impact or collision ; the process of regaining strength, confidence, or success following difficulty
3. Returns or springs back after a bounce or collision ; improves or returns to a former good condition following adversity or loss

Etymology: "Rebounds" is the third-person singular present form of the verb "rebound", so it is the form of "rebound" that goes with he, she, or it, and the noun "rebound" traces back to the same root. The verb came into English from Old French "rebondir", which combined "re-", meaning back or again, with "bondir", to leap or bounce. The picture is literal: something that bounces back off a surface. The meaning stretched from the physical to the figurical. A ball that rebounds off a wall springs back from the impact, and the same idea of springing back after a blow gave us the sense of recovering after a setback, as a company or a patient might rebound after a bad year or illness. The word thus carries its original image of a sudden return into its figurative uses.

Synonyms: bounces, ricochets, recoils, springbacks, resiles

Antonyms: drops, falls, declines, sinks, settles