See also: Strong

English edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

From Middle English strong, strang, from Old English strang, from Proto-West Germanic *strang, from Proto-Germanic *strangaz (tight, strict, straight, strong), from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (taut, stiff, tight). Cognate with Scots strang (strong), Saterland Frisian strang, West Frisian string (austere, strict, harsh, severe, stern, stark, tough), Dutch streng (strict, severe, tight), German streng (strict, severe, austere), Swedish sträng, strang (severe, strict, harsh), Norwegian strang (strong, harsh, bitter), Norwegian streng (strong, hard), Icelandic strangur (strict), Latin stringō (tighten).

Pronunciation edit

  • (UK) enPR: strŏng, IPA(key): /stɹɒŋ/, [st̠͡ɹ̠ɒŋ], [ʃt̠͡ɹ̠ɒŋ]
  • (file)
  • (US) enPR: strông, IPA(key): /stɹɔŋ/, [st̠͡ɹ̠ɔŋ], [ʃt̠͡ɹ̠ɔŋ], [ʃt͡ʃɹɔŋ]
  • (Canada, cotcaught merger) enPR: strŏng, IPA(key): /stɹɑŋ/, [st̠͡ɹ̠ɑŋ], [ʃt̠͡ɹ̠ɑŋ]
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɒŋ

Adjective edit

strong (comparative stronger, superlative strongest)

  1. Capable of producing great physical force.
    a big strong man; Jake was tall and strong
    The man was nearly drowned after a strong undercurrent swept him out to sea.
    • 1596, Edmund Spenser, “Book V, Canto I”, in The Faerie Queene. [], London: [] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC:
      For he was swift as swallow in her flight,
      And strong as Lyon in his lordly might.
    • 1853 April, Warren Isham, “Notes from Hungary”, in Warren Isham, editor, The Michigan Farmer, volume XI, number 4:
      But what sight is that? It seems a town right in the river, each building standing upon its own foundation, with the deep, strong current of the river sweeping all around it? They are flouring mills operated by the natural current of the stream.
  2. Capable of withstanding great physical force.
    a strong foundation; good strong shoes
  3. (broadly) Possessing power, might, or strength.
  4. Determined; unyielding.
    • 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
      The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.
    • 1934 March, Hermann Göring, Germany Reborn, page 47:
      Ideas are eternal; they hang in the stars, and a man must be brave and strong enough to reach up to the stars and fetch down the fire from heaven and to carry the torch among men.
    • 2019 February 3, “UN Study: China, US, Japan Lead World AI Development”, in Voice of America[1], archived from the original on 7 February 2019:
      It noted China was especially strong in the fast-growing area of “deep learning.”
      (file)
    He is strong in the face of adversity.
  5. Highly stimulating to the senses.
    a strong light; a strong taste
  6. Having an offensive or intense odor or flavor.
    a strong smell
  7. Having a high concentration of an essential or active ingredient.
    a strong cup of coffee; a strong medicine
  8. (specifically) Having a high alcoholic content.
    a strong drink
    She gets up, and pours herself a strong one. - Eagles, Lying Eyes
  9. (grammar) Inflecting in a different manner than the one called weak, such as Germanic verbs which change vowels.
    a strong verb
  10. (chemistry) That completely ionizes into anions and cations in a solution.
    a strong acid;  a strong base
  11. (military) Not easily subdued or taken.
    a strong position
  12. Having wealth or resources.
    a strong economy
  13. (slang, US) Impressive, good.
    You're working with troubled youth in your off time? That’s strong!
  14. Having a specified number of people or units.
    The enemy's army force was five thousand strong.
    • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. [] The First Part [], 2nd edition, part 1, London: [] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, [], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act II, scene i:
      Our armie will be forty thouſand ſtrong,
      When Tamburlain and braue Theridamas
      Haue met vs by the riuer Araris:
      And all conioin’d to meete the witleſſe King,
      That now is marching neere to Parthia.
  15. (of a disease or symptom) Severe; very bad or intense.
    • 2005, Andrew Gaeddert, Healing Immune Disorders: Natural Defense-Building Solutions, North Atlantic Books, page 221:
      Physicians may diagnosis influenza by a throat culture or blood test, which may be important if you have a particularly strong flu, if your doctor suspects pneumonia or a bacterial infection.
  16. (mathematics, logic) Having a wide range of logical consequences; widely applicable. (Often contrasted with a weak statement which it implies.)
  17. (of an argument) Convincing.
    • 1558, John Knox, The Appellation of Iohn Knoxe from the cruell and moſt iniuſt ſentence pronounced againſt him by the falſe biſhoppes and clergie of Scotland, page 11v:
      [] but grounding him ſelfe vpon ſtrong reaſons, to wit, that he had not offended the Iewes, neither yet the Law, but that he was innocēt, and therefore that no iudge oght to geue hym in the hādes of his ennemies []

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

  • (capable of producing great physical force): forceless, weak
  • (capable of withstanding great physical force): fragile
  • (having a high concentration of an essential or active ingredient): diluted, impotent, weak
  • (grammar: irregular): regular, weak
  • (chemistry: that completely ionizes): weak
  • (military: not easily subdued or taken): weak

Hyponyms edit

Derived terms edit

Translations edit

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

See also edit

Adverb edit

strong (not comparable)

  1. In a strong manner.

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

Translations edit

See also edit

Anagrams edit

Middle English edit

Etymology 1 edit

From Old English strang, form Proto-Germanic *strangaz.

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

strong (plural and weak singular stronge, comparative strenger or stronger, superlative strengest or strongest)

  1. strong
Antonyms edit
Descendants edit
  • English: strong
  • Scots: strang
  • Yola: straung
References edit

Etymology 2 edit

From Old French estrange.

Adjective edit

strong

  1. Alternative form of straunge

Swedish edit

Etymology edit

Through Swedish slang, based on English strong, since 1922. There is also a form strång with a different sense since 1640.

Adjective edit

strong (comparative strongare, superlative strongast)

  1. (colloquial) mentally and morally strong, courageous
  2. (colloquial) strong (of a performance or the like)
    Synonym: stark

Declension edit

Inflection of strong
Indefinite Positive Comparative Superlative2
Common singular strong strongare strongast
Neuter singular strongt strongare strongast
Plural stronga strongare strongast
Masculine plural3 stronge strongare strongast
Definite Positive Comparative Superlative
Masculine singular1 stronge strongare strongaste
All stronga strongare strongaste
1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.
2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
3) Dated or archaic

Related terms edit

References edit

Tok Pisin edit

This entry has fewer than three known examples of actual usage, the minimum considered necessary for clear attestation, and may not be reliable. Tok Pisin is subject to a special exemption for languages with limited documentation. If you speak it, please consider editing this entry or adding citations. See also Help and the Community Portal.

Etymology edit

From English strong.

Adjective edit

strong

  1. Capable of producing great physical force; strong.
  2. Capable of withstanding great physical force; strong.
  3. Determined, unyielding.

See also edit

Noun edit

strong

  1. Strength
    • 1989, Buk Baibel long Tok Pisin, Port Moresby: Bible Society of Papua New Guinea, Jenesis 1:22:
      Na God i mekim gutpela tok bilong givim strong long ol. Em i tokim ol olsem, “Yupela ol kain kain samting bilong solwara, yupela i mas kamap planti na pulapim olgeta hap bilong solwara. Na yupela ol pisin, yupela i mas kamap planti long graun.”
      →New International Version translation