EN

Synonyms for stronghold

  • noun

Most common

fort fortress citadel bastion refuge

All synonyms

Noun

1. Fortress — A place built to withstand attack; a fortress

fortress, citadel, fort, bastion, bulwark, fastness, redoubt, castle, fortification, donjon, tower, hold, keep

Other

refuge

Definitions

  1. n. 1

    A place built to withstand attack; a fortress.

Forms

Plural
strongholds → fortresses, citadels, forts, bastions…

Choose the right word

Stronghold or Fastness?

Any defensible place, whether made so by nature or by art, is a fastness or stronghold.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

  • fort There's an old fort from Roman times in the woods.
  • fortress The fortress was secure from every kind of attack.
  • citadel What is out of the lips, is out of the citadel.
  • refuge Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.

Popularity over time

Word1850 → 2019Trend
strongholdrising
fortsteady
fortressrising
citadelsteady
bastionsteady
refugesteady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters
keep1, hold1, fort1
5 letters
tower2
6 letters
castle2, refuge2, donjon
7 letters
citadel3, bastion2, bulwark2, redoubt2
8 letters
fortress2, fastness2
13 letters
fortification5

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (tower2 = 2 syllables).

In other languages

Français
bastille
Español
fortaleza