The comeback quotes listed below will inspire you to turn your setback into a remarkable success story.

Everybody loves a good comeback story, whether it’s their own or someone else’s.

When you experience a bad turn of luck or somehow fall short of your goals, it’s incredibly satisfying to make a comeback and triumph in the end.

We all love seeing the underdog come out on top.

Besides your professional life or athletic development, where else can you make a great comeback?

It’s a sweet victory when you can deliver the perfect witty comeback to someone else’s snarky comment.

Having that sharp retort or clever quip at hand is tricky, and it always seems to occur to us long after the right time to use it.

Whether you need a quick answer for a cutting comment, or you’re seeking motivation after a setback, the comeback quotes and sayings below will help you prepare to make an inspiring comeback.

Don’t forget to also check out our collection of rejection quotes about life, love, and goals.

Comeback quotes to motivate you after a setback

1. “To have a comeback, you have to have a setback.” – Mr. T

2. “That’s the greatest comeback since Lazarus.” – Sid Waddell

3. “Nothing is cooler and more attractive than a big comeback, and that’ll be me.” – Steven Adler

4. “I’m always making a comeback but nobody ever tells me where I’ve been.” – Billie Holiday

5. “Making a comeback is one of the most difficult things to do with dignity.” – Greg Lake

6. “To admit you want to have a comeback means you have to admit you weren’t what you were supposed to be. You dropped below your own standard.” – Marilyn Manson

7. “There’s nothing as exciting as a comeback – seeing someone with dreams, watching them fail, and then getting a second chance.” – Rachel Griffiths

8. “There is nothing as sweet as a comeback, when you are down and out, about to lose, and out of time.” – Anne Lamott

If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to check out our collection of cool quotes about keeping a relaxed mind.

9. “I’m a comeback waiting to happen. No one deserves it more than I do.” – Sean Young

10. “I am facing a challenge, I am not facing defeat. Remember this.” – Nikki Rowe

11. “Fall down seven times, get up eight.” – Naoki Higashida

Quotes About Great Comebacks in Sports

12. “I’ve learned that something constructive comes from every defeat.”– Tom Landry

13. “The more difficult the victory, the greater the happiness in winning.”– Pele

14. “I don’t know if God is a sports fan or not, but I do know this: He loves a good comeback.” – Lane Kiffin

15. “The real glory is being knocked to your knees and then coming back. That’s real glory. That’s the essence of it.” – Vince Lombardi

16. “The only way to prove that you’re a good sport is to lose.”– Ernie Banks

17. “When you’ve got something to prove, there’s nothing greater than a challenge.” – Terry Bradshaw

18. “Never give up, never give in, and when the upper hand is ours, may we have the ability to handle the win with the dignity that we absorbed the loss.”– Doug Williams

19. “Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.”– Marv Levy

20. “During my 18 years I came to bat almost 10,000 times. I struck out about 1,700 times and walked maybe 1,800 times. You figure a ballplayer will average about 500 at bats a season. That means I played seven years without ever hitting the ball.” – Mickey Mantle

21. “To uncover your true potential you must first find your own limits and then you have to have the courage to blow past them.” – Picabo Street

22. “Never give up! Failure and rejection are only the first step to succeeding.” – Jim Valvano

23. “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi

Also check out our list of motivational Good Will Hunting quotes that will inspire you to realize your potential.

Comeback Quotes From Successful People About Being an Underdog

24. “I never expect to lose. Even when I’m the underdog, I still prepare a victory speech.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

25. “I’ve always felt like the underdog, and I’m comfortable with that label.” – Pink

26. “Well, any good comeback needs some true believers.” — John Boehner

27. “I’ve always been an underdog. I feel like I beat the odds.” – J. Cole
If you’re enjoying these quotes, make sure to read our collection of J. Cole quotes and lyrics on life & love.

28. “I am the underdog, and I want to prove that one can follow one’s dreams despite all the flaws and setbacks.” – Winnie Harlow

29. “I was the undersized underdog who people never gave a chance. From that, the motivation to prove people wrong just grew and grew.” – Baker Mayfield
If you’re enjoying these quotes, you’ll love our collection of short motivational quotes that will get you ready to tackle the day.

30. “There’s a place in me that can really relate to being the underdog.” – Halle Berry

31. “I just think, as a people in general, we should always look at ourselves as the underdog, so we should always go harder than the next person.” – Shaggy

Comeback Quotes About Finding the Perfect Snarky Comeback Way Too Late

32. “People in France have a phrase: “Spirit of the Stairway.” In French: Esprit de l’escalier. It means that moment when you find the answer, but it’s too late. Say you’re at a party and someone insults you. You have to say something. So under pressure, with everybody watching, you say something lame. But the moment you leave the party… As you start down the stairway, then — magic. You come up with the perfect thing you should’ve said. The perfect crippling put-down. That’s the Spirit of the Stairway.” – Chuck Palahniuk

33. “You only think of the best comeback when you leave.” – Jimmy Fallon

34. “Unfortunately, I am incapable of thinking up perfectly biting, split-second retorts, in any language. The French even have a word for this: l’esprit de l’escalier; staircase wit, something you only think of on the way out.” – Tania Aebi

35. “I always think of the good comebacks on the car ride home.” – Ron Howard

36. “I am often tongue-tied with strangers and have what the philosopher Monsieur Diderot calls l’esprit de l’escalier, staircase wit: only long after a remark is made to me will my imagination supply the thing I should have said in reply.” – Debra Dean

37. “America loves a good comeback story!” — Laura van den Berg

You might also like these quotes on second chances in life, love and more.

Witty comeback quotes

38. “Of course I talk like an idiot. How else could you understand me?” – Unknown

39. “There’s no need to repeat yourself. I ignored you just fine the first time.” – Unknown

40. “You can never have the comeback if you don’t have the retirement.” — Chael Sonnen

41. “I’d agree with you but then we’d both be wrong.” – Unknown

42. “Insecure people don’t stage comebacks, since they don’t leave the scene.” — Atif Aslam

43. “Whenever I take a break for a couple of years, people use the term ‘comeback.’” — Pranitha Subhash

44. “Don’t say Aretha is making a comeback, because I’ve never been away!” — Aretha Franklin

45. “I’ve found puddles deeper than you.” – Unknown

46. “Comeback is a good word, man.” — Mickey Rourke

47. “I would love to make a comeback, but I don’t know if people would want to see me.” — Karan Kapoor

If you’re enjoying this article, make sure to also check out these new month quotes that inspire new beginnings.

Hilarious comeback quotes

48. “You’re about as useful as a screen door on a submarine.” – Unknown

49. “It’s hilarious watching you try to fit your entire vocabulary into one sentence.” – Unknown

50. “The village called. They’d like their idiot back.” – Unknown

51. “Oh you’re talking to me, I thought you only talked behind my back.” – Unknown

52. “It’s a shame you can’t Photoshop your personality.” – Unknown

53. “My name must taste good because it’s always in your mouth.” – Unknown

54. “I’m an acquired taste. If you don’t like me, acquire some taste.” – Unknown

Don’t forget to also check out these warrior quotes on having an unbeatable mind.

Motivational comeback quotes

55. “I won’t insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said.” – William F. Buckley, Jr.

56. “Tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” – Unknown

57. “Every time I show up to do something here it’s considered a comeback. If I came into town and they didn’t call it that, I’d be disappointed.” – Sheena Easton

58. “To persevere is important to everybody. Don’t give up. Don’t Give in. There is always an answer to everything.” – Louis Zamperini

59. “I do a movie once every four years and they call it a comeback.” – Pam Grier

60. “Comebacks don’t seem likely when your back is up against the wall and your hope is depleted. But if you will stay the course, you will discover God’s power to reverse the irreversible in your life.” — Tony Evans

61. “A great champion deals with setback with a comeback.” – Donna de Varona

62. “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up.” – Michael Jordan

63. “You may be in a tough time but that setback is simply a setup for a greater comeback.” – Joel Osteen

64. “Your setback is just a setup for your comeback.” – Steve Harvey

You might also like these disappointment quotes to inspire your next comeback.

More comeback quotes and sayings

65. “He’s been to the brink and come back. I guess when you lose your pride, even for just a moment, you realise how much it means to you.” – Markus Zusak

66. “When you’re crying, your tears may be watering the seeds of your come-back.” – Steve Maraboli

67. “Persevere like a seed; even when people try to bury you, flourish.” – Matshona Dhliwayo

68. “Always try to come back to your senses when in love, because that’s the moment you become almost carried away by sensuality and sentiments.” – Michael Bassey Johnson

69. “Sometimes loneliness makes the loudest noise.” – Aaron Ben-Ze’ev

70. “It’s not too late for a new beginning.” – Eleanor Brownn

71. “Books can teach you many nice comebacks.” – Tamuna Tsertsvadze

72. “A comeback is a setback that did its homework, learned the lesson, and then moved forward.” – Eleanor Brownn

73. “Kindness is the key that opens the door of favour and beautiful surprises.” – Michael Bassey Johnson

74. “Never give up on you. Disappointments will happen. No one gets a free pass from them. Look not at these trials as setbacks . Rather, look at the lessons attached for your greatest personal comeback yet. You’ve got this.” – Christine E. Szymanski

75. “My comeback was not about winning or losing; it was about the feeling of being able to compete at top level again.” – Thomas Muster

76. “I feel blessed to have as many comebacks as I can.” – Paula Abdul

Comeback quotes to motivate you to try again

76. “The Motto of Champions: If you are hurt, you can suck it up and press on.” –T.F. Hodge

77. “When you hit hard tough stuff, do you feel flattened because of it or rebound in a new direction to keep living, loving, moving, and growing?” – Susan C. Young

78. “Own the sadness, don’t let it own you.”  – Kwame Alexander

79. “It’s just one miss, but you’re gonna have a whole lotta makes in this life, ’cause you’re just that good, and it’s okay to be down and upset as long as you’re not down and out.”  – Kwame Alexander

80. “I’m hungrier than those other guys out there. Every rebound is a personal challenge.”   – Dennis Rodman

81. “A good man may fall, but he falls like a ball [and rebounds]; the ignoble man falls like a lump of clay.”  – Bhartrhari

82. “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.” – Zig Ziglar

83. But ultimately what matters most is resilience–the ability to quickly rebound from failures, indeed to see failure as a stepping stone to success.” – Arianna Huffington 

84. “Start today creating a vision for yourself, your life, and your career. Bounce back from adversity and create what you want, rebuild and rebrand.” – Germany Kent

85. “Success is sweet, especially when your enemies thought nothing good can come out of your life again.”  – Bamigboye Olurotimi 

Which of these comeback quotes inspired you to give it your all?

When you’re on the athletic field, it comes from enduring failures and losses, learning from them all the while. After you eventually triumph, you’ll feel the satisfaction of an extraordinary comeback. 

Maybe your difficulties are in a different part of your life, like your job, your creative side, or your personal life. Wherever you are, your setbacks create an opportunity to persevere and make an inspirational comeback.

Finally, when it comes to conversation, a great funny comeback has to be delivered quickly and decisively, with the perfect blend of clever wit and dry humor. Now you are prepared to make your own great comeback.

Which of these comeback quotes and sayings inspired you to give it your all. Do you have any other inspirational quotes to add? Let us know in the comment section below.

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