Strong a. [Compar. Stronger superl. Strongest ]
1. Having active physical power, or great physical power to act; having a power of exerting great bodily force; vigorous.
That our oxen may be strong to labor. --Ps. cxliv. 14.
Orses the strong to greater strength must yield. --Dryden.
2. Having passive physical power; having ability to bear or endure; firm; hale; sound; robust; as, a strong constitution; strong health.
3. Solid; tough; not easily broken or injured; able to withstand violence; able to sustain attacks; not easily subdued or taken; as, a strong beam; a strong rock; a strong fortress or town.
4. Having great military or naval force; powerful; as, a strong army or fleet; a nation strong at sea.
5. Having great wealth, means, or resources; as, a strong house, or company of merchants.
6. Reaching a certain degree or limit in respect to strength or numbers; as, an army ten thousand strong.
7. Moving with rapidity or force; violent; forcible; impetuous; as, a strong current of water or wind; the wind was strong from the northeast; a strong tide.
8. Adapted to make a deep or effectual impression on the mind or imagination; striking or superior of the kind; powerful; forcible; cogent; as, a strong argument; strong reasons; strong evidence; a strong example; strong language.
9. Ardent; eager; zealous; earnestly engaged; as, a strong partisan; a strong Whig or Tory.
Her mother, ever strong against that match. --Shak.
10. Having virtues of great efficacy; or, having a particular quality in a great degree; as, a strong powder or tincture; a strong decoction; strong tea or coffee.
11. Full of spirit; containing a large proportion of alcohol; intoxicating; as, strong liquors.
12. Affecting any sense powerfully; as, strong light, colors, etc.; a strong flavor of onions; a strong scent.
13. Solid; nourishing; as, strong meat.
14. Well established; firm; not easily overthrown or altered; as, a strong custom; a strong belief.
15. Violent; vehement; earnest; ardent.
He had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears. --Heb. v. 7.
16. Having great force, vigor, power, or the like, as the mind, intellect, or any faculty; as, a man of a strong mind, memory, judgment, or imagination.
I was stronger in prophecy than in criticism. --Dryden.
17. Vigorous; effective; forcible; powerful.
Like her sweet voice is thy harmonious song,
As high, as sweet, as easy, and as strong. --E. Smith.
18. Stock Exchange Tending to higher prices; rising; as, a strong market.
19. Gram. (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its preterit (imperfect) by a variation in the root vowel, and the past participle (usually) by the addition of -en (with or without a change of the root vowel); as in the verbs strive, strove, striven; break, broke, broken; drink, drank, drunk. Opposed to weak, or regular. See Weak. (b) Applied to forms in Anglo-Saxon, etc., which retain the old declensional endings. In the Teutonic languages the vowel stems have held the original endings most firmly, and are called strong; the stems in -n are called weak other constant stems conform, or are irregular.
Strong conjugation Gram., the conjugation of a strong verb; -- called also old conjugation, or irregular conjugation, and distinguished from the weak conjugation or regular conjugation.
Note: ☞ Strong is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, strong-backed, strong-based, strong-bodied, strong-colored, strong-fisted, strong-handed, strong-ribbed, strong-smelling, strong-voiced, etc.
Syn: -- Vigorous; powerful; stout; solid; firm; hardy; muscular; forcible; cogent; valid. See Robust.
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strong
adj 1: having strength or power greater than average or expected;
"a strong radio signal"; "strong medicine"; "a strong
man" [ant: weak]
2: used of syllables or musical beats [syn: accented, heavy]
3: not faint or feeble; "a strong odor of burning rubber"
4: having or wielding force or authority; "providing the ground
soldier with increasingly potent weapons" [syn: potent]
5: having a strong physiological or chemical effect; "a potent
toxin"; "potent liquor"; "a potent cup of tea" [syn: potent]
[ant: impotent]
6: able to withstand attack; "an impregnable fortress";
"fortifications that made the frontier inviolable" [syn: impregnable,
inviolable, secure, unassailable, unattackable]
7: of good quality and condition; solidly built; "a solid
foundation"; "several substantial timber buildings" [syn:
solid, substantial]
8: of verbs not having standard (or regular) inflection;
"`sing' is a strong verb"
9: having a high alcoholic content; "hard liquor" [syn: hard]
10: freshly made or left; "a warm trail"; "the scent is warm"
[syn: warm]
11: strong and sure; "a firm grasp"; "gave a strong pull on the
rope" [syn: firm]
[also: strongest, stronger]