/ ˌriːəˈbɪlɪteɪt; NAmE / verb [ vn ]
1.
to help sb to have a normal, useful life again after they have been very ill / sick or in prison for a long time :
a unit for rehabilitating drug addicts
2.
to begin to consider that sb is good or acceptable after a long period during which they were considered bad or unacceptable :
He played a major role in rehabilitating Magritte as an artist.
3.
to return a building or an area to its previous good condition
► re·habili·ta·tion / ˌriːəˌbɪlɪˈteɪʃn; NAmE / noun [ U ]:
a drug rehabilitation centre
the rehabilitation of the steel industry
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WORD ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (earlier (late 15th cent.) as rehabilitation ) (in the sense restore to former privileges ): from medieval Latin rehabilitat- , from the verb rehabilitare (from re- and habilitate , from medieval Latin habilitat- made able, from the verb habilitare , from habilitas , from habilis able).