Street children surprisingly healthy -- their health... doesn't prove that they live a fine life - it is fraught with great danger,... These kids are RESILIENT and self-reliant and adapt physically to the difficult conditions of homelessness.
(BBC News - 13 April, 2002)
Did you know?
re-sil-ient
1. Marked by the ability to recover readily, as from misfortune.
2. Capable of returning to an original shape or position, as after having been compressed.
Synonyms: flexible, elastic, resilient, supple
These adjectives refer literally to what is capable of withstanding stress without injury and figuratively to what can undergo change or modification:
a FLEXIBLE wire; FLEXIBLE plans; an ELASTIC rubber band; an ELASTIC interpretation of the law; thin, RESILIENT copper; a RESILIENT temperament; SUPPLE suede; a SUPPLE mind.
Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition