strength

/strɛŋkθ/

/strɛŋθ/

Other forms: strengths

Strength is the property of being physically strong (you can do, say, 100 push-ups) or mentally strong (you can calculate percentages in your head while people are shouting at you).

Strength has several shades of meaning. The strength of something can be the measure of how much force or pressure it can withstand over time (like a flood wall). Or its potency (like a pesticide). Or its intensity level (like a radio signal). Its fighting capabilities (like an army). Or its specialty: A chameleon's strength is actually in its ability to blend in with its surroundings.

Definitions of strength

1. noun

   the property of being physically or mentally strong
   “fatigue sapped his strength”

   antonyms:

   weakness

   the property of lacking physical or mental strength; liability to failure under pressure or stress or strain

   types:

   good part

   a place of especial strength

   brawn, brawniness, heftiness, muscle, muscularity, sinew

   possessing muscular strength

   might, mightiness, power

   physical strength

   dynamism, heartiness, vigor, vigour

   active strength of body or mind

   hardiness, lustiness, robustness, validity

   the property of being strong and healthy in constitution

   huskiness, ruggedness, toughness

   the property of being big and strong

   stalwartness, stoutness

   the property of being strong and resolute

   sturdiness

   the property of something that is strongly built

   firmness, soundness

   the muscle tone of healthy tissue

   indomitability, invincibility

   the property being difficult or impossible to defeat

   endurance

   the power to withstand hardship or stress

   invulnerability

   the property of being invulnerable; the property of being incapable of being hurt (physically or emotionally)

   sufferance

   patient endurance especially of pain or distress

   stamina, staying power, toughness

   enduring strength and energy

   long-sufferance, long-suffering

   patient endurance of pain or unhappiness

   tolerance

   the power or capacity of an organism to tolerate unfavorable environmental conditions

   immunity

   the quality of being unaffected by something

   type of:

   property

   a basic or essential attribute shared by all members of a class
2. noun

   capability in terms of personnel and materiel that affect the capacity to fight a war
   “we faced an army of great strength”

   synonyms: military capability, military posture, military strength, posture

   types:

   sea power

   naval strength

   firepower

   (military) the relative capacity for delivering fire on a target

   type of:

   capability, capableness

   the quality of being capable -- physically or intellectually or legally
3. noun

   permanence by virtue of the power to resist stress or force
   synonyms: durability, enduringness, lastingness

   types:

   tensile strength

   the strength of material expressed as the greatest longitudinal stress it can bear without tearing apart

   indestructibility

   the strength to resist destruction

   continuity, persistence

   the property of a continuous and connected period of time

   changelessness

   the property of remaining unchanged

   everlastingness

   the property of lasting forever

   type of:

   permanence, permanency

   the property of being able to exist for an indefinite duration
4. noun

   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”

   synonyms: persuasiveness

   types:

   convincingness

   the power of argument or evidence to cause belief

   type of:

   power, powerfulness

   possession of controlling influence
5. noun

   an asset of special worth or utility
   synonyms: forte, long suit, metier, speciality, specialty, strong point, strong suit

   types:

   green fingers, green thumb

   a special ability to make plants grow

   type of:

   asset, plus

   a useful or valuable quality
6. noun

   physical energy or intensity
   “it was destroyed by the strength of the gale”

   synonyms: force, forcefulness

   types:

   brunt

   main force of a blow, etc,

   impulse, momentum

   an impelling force or strength

   energy, vigor, vigour, zip

   forceful exertion

   athleticism, strenuosity

   intense energy

   type of:

   intensity, intensiveness

   high level or degree; the property of being intense
7. noun

   the amount of energy transmitted (as by acoustic or electromagnetic radiation)
   “they measured the station's signal strength”

   synonyms: intensity, intensity level

   types:

   radio brightness

   the strength of a radio wave picked up by a radio telescope

   threshold level

   the intensity level that is just barely perceptible

   field intensity, field strength

   the vector sum of all the forces exerted by an electrical or magnetic field (on a unit mass or unit charge or unit magnetic pole) at a given point in the field

   candlepower, light intensity

   luminous intensity measured in candelas

   acoustic power, sound pressure level

   the physical intensity of sound

   half-intensity

   half the maximum intensity

   magnetic field strength, magnetic flux density, magnetic induction, magnetic intensity

   the amount of magnetic flux in a unit area perpendicular to the direction of magnetic flow

   type of:

   magnitude

   the property of relative size or extent (whether large or small)
8. noun

   capacity to produce strong physiological or chemical effects
   synonyms: effectiveness, potency

   type of:

   power, powerfulness

   possession of controlling influence
9. noun

   the condition of financial success
   “the strength of the company's stock in recent weeks”

   antonyms:

   weakness

   the condition of being financially weak

   type of:

   prosperity, successfulness

   the condition of prospering; having good fortune