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In the spirit of the What is a Word™/Phrase™ series started by JLee, a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles.

If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it a Resilient Word™.
Use the following examples below to find the rule.

$$ % set Title text. (spaces around the text ARE important; do not remove.) % increase Pad value only if your entries are longer than the title bar. % \def\Pad{\P{0.0}} \def\Title{\textbf{ Resilient }} % \def\S#1#2{\Space{#1}{20px}{#2px}}\def\P#1{\V{#1em}}\def\V#1{\S{#1}{9}} \def\T{\Title\textbf{Words}^{\;\!™}\Pad}\def\NT{\Pad\textbf{Not}\T\ }\displaystyle \smash{\lower{29px}\bbox[yellow]{\phantom{\rlap{rubio.2019.05.15}\S{6px}{0} \begin{array}{cc}\Pad\T&\NT\\\end{array}}}}\atop\def\V#1{\S{#1}{5}} \begin{array}{|c|c|}\hline\Pad\T&\NT\\\hline % \text{ PRESENT }&\text{ GIFT }\\ \hline \text{ SUSPECT }&\text{ SUSPICIOUS }\\ \hline \text{ INVALID }&\text{ VALID }\\ \hline \text{ ADDRESS }&\text{ LOCATION }\\ \hline \text{ CONTENT }&\text{ ITEM }\\ \hline \text{ PROJECT }&\text{ REPOSITORY }\\ \hline \text{ INSERT }&\text{ DELETE }\\ \hline \text{ OBJECT }&\text{ CLASS }\\ \hline \text{ RECORD }&\text{ COMPUTER }\\ \hline \text{ COMPOUND }&\text{ AMALGAM }\\ \hline \end{array}$$                                        

And, if you want to analyze, here is a CSV version:

Error 405: Method Not Allowed

The puzzle satisfies the series' inbuilt assumption, that each word can be tested for whether it is a Resilient Word™ without relying on the other words.
These are not the only examples of Resilient Words™; many more exist.

What is the special rule for a Resilient Word™?

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  • $\begingroup$ It's unfortunate that the server chose to reject the call for the CSV version... (a Resilient response, indeed). $\endgroup$
    – maxathousand
    Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 20:41

2 Answers 2

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A resilient word has common pronunciations with different syllables stressed in different parts of speech. It's called resilient because it can survive being dragged into a different part of speech: it adapts thereto by changing its pronunciation.

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  • $\begingroup$ Wow, good find! But then how is "address" Resilient? (Maybe an accent thing?) And why is the CSV version "not allowed"? $\endgroup$
    – Rand al'Thor
    Commented Jan 12, 2020 at 19:44
  • $\begingroup$ @ran "address" fits the pattern in some dialects. Dunno about the CSV. $\endgroup$
    – msh210
    Commented Jan 12, 2020 at 19:45
  • $\begingroup$ Gah, rats - must have started writing up only moments before you posted!! Well done :) Glad I didn't continue to explain all the words - I'd have regretted that even more! $\endgroup$
    – Stiv
    Commented Jan 12, 2020 at 19:49
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    $\begingroup$ I wonder if the reason there's no CSV is because it wouldn't help to identify the answer, since the property is related to pronunciation, not spelling. $\endgroup$
    – F1Krazy
    Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 9:56
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    $\begingroup$ @Sandra, "Invalid" is also a rarely-used, often offensive, term for a disabled person, which is pronounced very differently from "invalid data". See en.wiktionary.org/wiki/invalid, Etymology 2. Anecdotally, the only place I've seen it used these days is in the phrase "invalid carriage" as a catch-all term for various configurations of electric wheelchairs and mobility scooters. $\endgroup$
    – ymbirtt
    Commented Jan 13, 2020 at 9:57
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A Resilient Word is:

A word which can mean different things when different syllables are stressed.

For example:

'Present' could be pronounced PRES-ent (as in a gift) or pres-ENT (meaning to give a presentation).

Similarly, 'suspect' could be either a 'SUS-pect' (in a police investigation) or to 'su-SPECT' something (when you think something is wrong).

As for the name:

'Resilient' doesn't follow the rule, but by definition something resilient can withstand many situations - like changing which syllable is stressed...

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