strong
Pronunciation: (strông, strong), [key]
— adj., adv. strong•er strong•est
—adj.
- having, showing, or able to exert great bodily or muscular power; physically vigorous or robust: a strong boy.
- accompanied or delivered by great physical, mechanical, etc., power or force: a strong handshake; With one strong blow the machine stamped out a fender.
- mentally powerful or vigorous: He may be old, but his mind is still strong.
- especially able, competent, or powerful in a specific field or respect: She's very strong in mathematics. He's weak at bat, but he's a strong fielder.
- of great moral power, firmness, or courage: strong under temptation.
- powerful in influence, authority, resources, or means of prevailing or succeeding: a strong nation.
- aggressive; willful: a strong personality.
- of great force, effectiveness, potency, or cogency; compelling: strong reasons; strong arguments.
- clear and firm; loud: He has a strong voice.
- solid or stable; healthy; thriving: The banker predicted a strong economy.
- well-supplied or rich in something specific: a strong hand in trumps.
- having powerful means to resist attack, assault, or aggression: a strong fortress; a strong defense.
- able to resist strain, force, wear, etc.: strong walls; strong cloth.
- decisively unyielding; firm or uncompromising: She has strong views about the United Nations. He has a strong sense of duty.
- fervent; zealous; thoroughgoing: He's a strong Democrat.
- strenuous or energetic; vigorous: strong efforts.
- moving or acting with force or vigor: strong winds.
- distinct or marked; vivid, as impressions, resemblance or contrast: He bears a strong resemblance to his grandfather.
- intense, as light or color.
- having a large proportion of the effective or essential properties or ingredients; concentrated: strong tea.
- (of a beverage or food) containing much alcohol: strong drink; The fruitcake was too strong.
- having a high degree of flavor or odor: strong cheese; strong perfume.
- having an unpleasant or offensive flavor or odor, esp. in the process of decay: strong butter.
- of a designated number: Marines 20,000 strong.
- characterized by steady or advancing prices: The market resumed its strong pace after yesterday's setback.
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- (of Germanic verbs) having vowel change in the root in inflected forms, as the English verbs sing, sang, sung; ride, rode, ridden.
- (of Germanic nouns and adjectives) inflected with endings that are generally distinctive of case, number, and gender, as German alter Mann “old man.”
- belonging to the morphophonemically less regular of two inflectional subtypes.
- (of a word or syllable) stressed.
- having great magnifying or refractive power: a strong microscope.
—adv.
- strongly.
- to behave in an aggressive, ardent, or flamboyant manner: When you're interviewed for the job, don't come on too strong.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.