Meaning & use
full recovery
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A complete return to normal health after an illness or injury.
Grammar: Often used with make or a possessive: make a full recovery, her full recovery.
Patterns
- make a full recovery
- a full recovery from something
After months of treatment, he made a full recovery.
The doctor expects her to make a full recovery from the surgery.
A full recovery can take time, so be patient.
nouncountable
A complete return to a normal or previous level, especially in business or the economy.
Grammar: Often used with make or see: the economy made a full recovery.
Patterns
- a full recovery in something
- make a full recovery
The company made a full recovery after the bad year.
Analysts expect a full recovery in the housing market.
It may take years for tourism to see a full recovery.
Word forms
| plural | full recoveries |
|---|
Common combinations
- make a full recovery
- She made a full recovery after the accident.
- a full recovery from
- His full recovery from the flu took two weeks.
- expect a full recovery
- Doctors expect a full recovery with rest.
- a full recovery in
- There has been a full recovery in sales this quarter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- complete recovery
- Very similar, but complete recovery is slightly more formal and less common in everyday speech.
- total recovery
- Emphasizes that nothing is missing; full recovery is the standard phrase in both health and business.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: full recovery or recovery?
full recovery vs recovery
Recovery is the general process; full recovery means the process is completely finished.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'full recovery' correctly?
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is make a full recovery. Do, take, and give do not collocate with recovery in this meaning.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “full recovery”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.