rehabilitation

What it means

1. countableuncountableThe process of rehabilitating somebody or something.

   Maybe now it should be clearer why Louis van Gaal has been telling anyone who cares to listen they should not be surprised if Manchester United’s rehabilitation takes longer than they would ideally like.

   August 16 2014, Daniel Taylor, "Swansea upstage Manchester United in Louis van Gaal’s Premier League bow," guardian.co.uk

   1 more example

   The working life span of a passenger carriage, on average, is between 30 and 35 years, so a steady replacement takes place quite naturally. The life span of a station, however, cannot be so easily reckoned, for it depends largely on the rehabilitation and upkeep of the existing structures.

   1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 250

In a sentence

The working life span of a passenger carriage, on average, is between 30 and 35 years, so a steady replacement takes place quite naturally. The life span of a station, however, cannot be so easily reckoned, for it depends largely on the rehabilitation and upkeep of the existing structures.

1962 October, Brian Haresnape, “Focus on B.R. passenger stations”, in Modern Railways, page 250

Where it comes from

1. Medieval Latinrehabilitatio
2. Middle Frenchréhabilitation
3. Englishrehabilitation

From Middle French réhabilitation, from Medieval Latin rehabilitatio.