Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Strength of mind that allows one to endure pain or adversity with courage.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Strength; force; power to attack or to resist attack.
- noun Mental power of endurance; patient courage under affliction, privation, or temptation; firmness in confronting danger, hardship, or suffering.
- noun In astrology, any circumstance which strengthens the effect of a planet, or of the part of fortune; a dignity; especially, an accidental dignity, such as being in the ascendant, in the seventh, fourth, eleventh, second, fifth, ninth, or third house, being in hayz, having direct motion, having swift motion, being free from combustion, being in cazimi, etc.
- noun Synonyms Endurance, etc. (see
patience ), resolution, resoluteness, nerve.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun obsolete Power to resist attack; strength; firmness.
- noun That strength or firmness of mind which enables a person to encounter danger with coolness and courage, or to bear pain or adversity without murmuring, depression, or despondency; passive courage; resolute endurance; firmness in confronting or bearing up against danger or enduring trouble.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun
Mental oremotional strength thatenables courage in the face ofadversity . - noun archaic
Physical strength.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun strength of mind that enables one to endure adversity with courage
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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That internal fortitude is one of the most powerful things you can possess as a writer.
Writer Unboxed » Blog Archive » The Only Way to Know If You’ll Be a Successful Writer 2010
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Finally a state legislator with some intestinal fortitude is attempting to repeal the requirement that one has to obtain a pistol permit from the county sheriff before one may buy a handgun (or crossbow).
Should Felons Hunt? 2009
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Finally a state legislator with some intestinal fortitude is attempting to repeal the requirement that one has to obtain a pistol permit from the county sheriff before one may buy a handgun (or crossbow).
Should Felons Hunt? 2009
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I hope that our Farmers understand that out in the country as a whole, we are with them and that our admiration for their fortitude is boundless.
Archive 2007-08-12 2007
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I hope that our Farmers understand that out in the country as a whole, we are with them and that our admiration for their fortitude is boundless.
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I thought I should have fainted; but a torrent of tears recalled the ebbing current of my heart, and I grew proud in fortitude, though humbled in self-love.
Memoirs of Mary Robinson Mary Elizabeth Robinson 1895
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Strengthened thus in fortitude, she descended chearfully to supper, where Mr. Tyrold, though he saw with pain that her spirits were constrained, felt the fondest satisfaction in the virtue of her exertion.
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Pursue me, persecute me no longer, but suffer me to abide by myself, till my fortitude is better strengthened to meet my destiny! '
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Each now, separately, and with nearly equal difficulty, strove to attain fortitude to seek an explanation.
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The mercenaries of the caliph were dismayed at the approach of an enemy who neither asked nor accepted quarter; and the difference between, them in fortitude and patience, is expressive of the change which three centuries of prosperity had effected in the character of the Arabians.
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire 1206
sionnach commented on the word fortitude
"I bought myself fifty hamburgers and I've only ten left," said Tom with fortitude.
October 20, 2007
dbekeny commented on the word fortitude
WIZARD
Well, you can't. As for you, my fine
friend -- you're a victim of disorganized
thinking. You are under the unfortunate
delusion that simply because you run away
from danger, you have no courage. You're
confusing courage with wisdom. Back where
I come from, we have men who are called
heroes. Once a year, they take their
fortitude out of mothballs and parade it
down the main street of the city. And they
have no more courage than you have. But!
They have one thing that you haven't got!
A medal! Therefore -- for meritorious....
conduct, extraordinary valor, conspicuous
bravery against wicked witches, I award you
the Triple Cross.
June 10, 2010