rehabilitate

present singular third person rehabilitates · participle present rehabilitating · participle past rehabilitated · past rehabilitated

1. transitiveTo restore (someone) to their former state, reputation, possessions, status etc.First known use 16th c.
2. transitiveTo vindicate; to restore the reputation or image of (a person, concept etc.).First known use 18th c.
3. transitiveTo return (something) to its original condition.First known use 19th c.

   Synonyms: restore, roll back, deconvert, reconvert, restitute, restore, revert, roll back

4. CanadaUStransitivebusinessTo restore or repair (a vehicle, building); to make habitable or usable again.First known use 19th c.

   Engineers are considering using the blowable insulation to rehabilitate residential buildings in Chicago under an Argonne partnership with Bethel New Life, a Chicago community economic initiative.

   1996 November, “Doggone it, it's a new ceramic binder”, in DOE this Month, page 14

   1 more example

   Cumaratunga was so furious that he intensified his campaign for revitalizing the traditional practices of asweddumization, so that neglected arable land could be rehabilitated, and a degenerating economy restructured and rejuvenated.

   1992, Alavattāgoḍa Pēmadāsa, Cumaratunga, the Unknown: Hidden Facets of His Scientific Profile, page 115

   Synonyms: fix, renovate, amend, correct, fix, fix up, furbish, retrieve

5. transitivecriminologyTo restore to (a criminal etc.) the necessary training and education to allow for a successful reintegration into society; to retrain.First known use 19th c.
6. transitivemedicineTo return (someone) to good health after illness, addiction, etc.First known use 19th c.

   Patty Wahlers, 40, is the founder and director of Horse of Connecticut, an organization situated on a 46-acre farm in Washington that rescues and rehabilitates neglected horses and puts them up for adoption.

   2002 March 24, Sherri Daley, “Finding Homes for Horses That Were Left for Dead”, in The New York Times

7. intransitiveTo go through such a process; to recover.First known use 20th c.

   Truman made us all feel welcome and relaxed as we shook hands with him. We sat around the desk, and he spoke very earnestly about the necessity of rehabilitating Europe and emphasized his concern that peaceful German production should be encouraged.

   1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 43