re ‧ ha ‧ bil ‧ i ‧ tate /ˌriːhəˈbɪləteɪt, ˌriːhəˈbɪlɪteɪt/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Language: Medieval Latin ; Origin: past participle of rehabilitare , from Latin habilitas 'ability' ]
1 . to help someone to live a healthy, useful, or active life again after they have been seriously ill or in prison:
a special unit for rehabilitating stroke patients
2 . to make people think that someone or something is good again after a period when people had a bad opinion of them:
The Prime Minister seems to be trying to rehabilitate the former defence secretary.
3 . to improve a building or area so that it returns to the good condition it was in before ⇨ renovate :
A lot of the older houses have now been rehabilitated.
—rehabilitation /ˌriːhəbɪləˈteɪʃ ə n, ˌriːhəbɪlɪˈteɪʃ ə n/ noun [uncountable] :
the rehabilitation of mentally ill patients