robust

ro·bust

adjective \rō-ˈbəst, ˈrō-(ˌ)bəst\

Definition of ROBUST

1

a : having or exhibiting strength or vigorous health

b : having or showing vigor, strength, or firmness <a robust debate> <a robust faith>

c : strongly formed or constructed : sturdy <a robust plastic>

d : capable of performing without failure under a wide range of conditions <robust software>

2

: rough, rude <stories … laden with robust, down-home imagery — Playboy>

3

: requiring strength or vigor <robust work>

4

: full-bodied <robust coffee>; also : hearty <a robust dinner>

5

: of, relating to, resembling, or being a relatively large, heavyset australopithecine (especially Australopithecus robustus and A. boisei) characterized especially by heavy molars and small incisors adapted to a vegetarian diet — compare gracile 3

— ro·bust·ly adverb

— ro·bust·ness \-ˈbəs(t)-nəs, -(ˌ)bəs(t)-\ noun

Examples of ROBUST

1. robust young men and women
2. He is in robust health.
3. The sauce has a robust flavor.
4. If Singapore, just seven miles to the north with its glittering skyline and robust economy, is Southeast Asia's Cinderella, Batam is her dark sister. —Peter Gwin, National Geographic, October 2007
5. The greatest gains in mine mechanization came in a burst of innovation following World War II, when robust new machines were developed … —Robert L. Marovelli, Scientific American, September 1982
6. Humfry was a man whom everyone noticed. His stature was above ordinary, his complexion sanguine, his conversation lively, and his constitution robust. —Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America, 1971
7. Why is almost every robust healthy boy with a robust healthy soul in him, at some time or other crazy to go to sea? —Herman Melville, Moby Dick, 1851

Origin of ROBUST

Latin robustus oaken, strong, from robor-, robur oak, strength

First Known Use: 1533

Related to ROBUST

Synonyms

able-bodied, bouncing, fit, hale, hearty, healthy, sound, well, well-conditioned, whole, wholesome

Antonyms

ailing, diseased, ill, sick, unfit, unhealthy, unsound, unwell

Related Words

hard, hardy, iron, lusty, rugged, stalwart, strong, sturdy, tough; ambulatory, nondisabled, uncrippled; active, agile, chipper, lively, sprightful, sprightly, spry, vigorous, vital; blooming, clean-cut, flourishing, flush, prospering, thriving; all right, good, right

Near Antonyms

decrepit, enfeebled, feeble, infirm, run-down, sickened, sickly, weak, weakened, weakly, worn-out; challenged, crippled, debilitated, differently abled, disabled, halt, incapacitated, lame; delicate, fragile, frail; emaciated, gaunt, haggard, malnourished, undernourished; afflicted, troubled; bad, poorly

See Synonym Discussion at healthy

Rhymes with ROBUST

adjust, adust, august, blind trust, bloodlust, brain trust, combust, degust, disgust, distrust, encrust, entrust, in trust, leaf rust, mistrust, moondust, piecrust, sawdust, stardust, unjust, upthrust