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strength |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Strength \Strength\, v. t. To strengthen. [Obs.] --Chaucer. From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Strength \Strength\, n. [OE. strengthe, AS streng[eth]u, fr strang strong. See {Strong}.] 1. The quality or state of being strong; ability to do or to bear; capacity for exertion or endurance, whether physical, intellectual, or moral; force; vigor; power; as strength of body or of the arm; strength of mind, of memory, or of judgment. All his [Samson's] strength in his hairs were --Chaucer. Thou must outlive Thy youth, thy strength, thy beauty. --Milton. 2. Power to resist force; solidity or toughness; the quality of bodies by which they endure the application of force without breaking or yielding; -- in this sense opposed to {frangibility}; as the strength of a bone, of a beam, of a wall, a rope, and the like ``The brittle strength of bones.'' --Milton. 3. Power of resisting attacks; impregnability. ``Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn.'' --Shak. 4. That quality which tends to secure results; effective power in an institution or enactment; security; validity; legal or moral force; logical conclusiveness; as the strength of social or legal obligations; the strength of law; the strength of public opinion; strength of evidence; strength of argument. 5. One who or that which is regarded as embodying or affording force, strength, or firmness; that on which confidence or reliance is based; support; security. God is our refuge and strength. --Ps. xlvi. 1. What they boded would be a mischief to us you are providing shall be one of our principal strengths. --Sprat. Certainly there is not a greater strength against temptation. --Jer. Taylor. 6. Force as measured; amount, numbers, or power of any body, as of an army, a navy, and the like as what is the strength of the enemy by land, or by sea? 7. Vigor or style; force of expression; nervous diction; -- said of literary work And praise the easy vigor of a life Where Denham's strength and Waller's sweetness join --Pope. 8. Intensity; -- said of light or color. Bright Ph[oe]bus in his strength. --Shak. 9. Intensity or degree of the distinguishing and essential element; spirit; virtue; excellence; -- said of liquors, solutions, etc.; as the strength of wine or of acids. 10. A strong place a stronghold. [Obs.] --Shak. {On}, or {Upon}, {the strength of}, in reliance upon ``The allies, after a successful summer, are too apt, upon the strength of it to neglect their preparations for the ensuing campaign.'' --Addison. Syn: Force; robustness; toughness; hardness; stoutness; brawniness; lustiness; firmness; puissance; support; spirit; validity; authority. See {Force}. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: strength n 1: the property of being physically or mentally strong; "fatigue sapped his strength" [ant: {weakness}] 2: capability in terms of personnel and materiel; "we faced an army of great strength" [syn: {military capability}] 3: physical energy or intensity: "he hit with all the force he could muster"; "it was destroyed by the strength of the gale"; "a government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man" [syn: {force}, {forcefulness}] 4: an asset of special worth or utility; "cooking is his forte" [syn: {forte}, {long suit}, {metier}, {specialty}, {speciality}, {strong point}] [ant: {weak point}] 5: the power to induce the taking of a course of action or the embracing of a point of view by means of argument or entreaty; "the strength of his argument settled the matter" [syn: {persuasiveness}] [ant: {unpersuasiveness}] 6: a measure of the amount of energy transmitted (as by acoustic or electromagnetic radiation); "he adjusted the intensity of the sound"; "they measured the station's signal strength" [syn: {intensity}] 7: capacity to produce strong physiological or chemical effects: "the toxin's potency"; "the strength of the drinks" [syn: {potency}, {effectiveness}] 8: the condition of financial success; "the strength of the company's stock in recent weeks" [ant: {weakness}] 9: permanence by virtue of the power to resist stress or force; "they advertised the durability of their products" [syn: {lastingness}, {durability}, {enduringness}]
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