as in strongholds
a structure or place from which one can resist attack
the rebel army retreated to its bastion in the mountains to regroup
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Recent Examples of bastions
Military engineers resorted to building lower, thicker ramparts, backed by earth, and sought to eliminate blind spots by building angular bastions — the aforementioned extrusions.
—
Big Think, 27 Mar. 2026
The first round brought mixed results for the party, which got re-elected in several cities but failed to make major wins beyond its southern and northern bastions.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Mar. 2026
For its part, the M2 is seen by many as one of the last bastions of the M division’s original ethos.
—Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2026
City types of a certain age have been dismayed at the loss of one of the Square Mile’s bastions.
—Ian King, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2026
While many American cities are painted as bastions of murder, a new report has revealed that this is not actually the case.
—Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 27 Jan. 2026
Wikipedia is one of the last bastions of the early internet, but that original vision of a free online space has been clouded by the dominance of Big Tech platforms and the rise of generative AI chatbots trained on content scraped from the web.
—Arkansas Online, 18 Jan. 2026
In her conversations with health officials around the country, Balfour has found that there is increasing backlash towards the growing number of people who are unhoused, even in liberal bastions such as San Francisco and Seattle.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 2 Jan. 2026
After tenures at Atlanta bastions like Miller Union, pastry chef Claudia Martinez is now taking the driver’s seat with a star-studded crew behind her.
—Su-Jit Lin, Southern Living, 17 Dec. 2025
Big Think, 27 Mar. 2026
The first round brought mixed results for the party, which got re-elected in several cities but failed to make major wins beyond its southern and northern bastions.
—Reuters, NBC news, 22 Mar. 2026
For its part, the M2 is seen by many as one of the last bastions of the M division’s original ethos.
—Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 18 Mar. 2026
City types of a certain age have been dismayed at the loss of one of the Square Mile’s bastions.
—Ian King, CNBC, 18 Feb. 2026
While many American cities are painted as bastions of murder, a new report has revealed that this is not actually the case.
—Justin Klawans, TheWeek, 27 Jan. 2026
Wikipedia is one of the last bastions of the early internet, but that original vision of a free online space has been clouded by the dominance of Big Tech platforms and the rise of generative AI chatbots trained on content scraped from the web.
—Arkansas Online, 18 Jan. 2026
In her conversations with health officials around the country, Balfour has found that there is increasing backlash towards the growing number of people who are unhoused, even in liberal bastions such as San Francisco and Seattle.
—O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 2 Jan. 2026
After tenures at Atlanta bastions like Miller Union, pastry chef Claudia Martinez is now taking the driver’s seat with a star-studded crew behind her.
—Su-Jit Lin, Southern Living, 17 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastions
Noun
-
This development reflects a broader shift in which many Anglicans locate the center of the faith outside its Western strongholds.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Meanwhile, in deep-blue strongholds, law-abiding people and small shop owners keep getting treated like background characters in someone else’s morality play.—
Larry Clifton,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Surface tanks are targets; subsurface reservoirs are fortresses.—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
-
France believed its Maginot Line of fortresses was impregnable – until the Germans simply went around it.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Javelin missile systems are portable antitank weapons also designed to destroy low-flying helicopters and other fortifications.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Star fortifications started in Italy, were perfected in France (especially by the prolific Vauban), and dominated the European military scene for the entire 17th and 18th centuries, giving Europe’s strategic cities and landscapes a distinctive architectural look.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The story is a bit murkier than Manichaean talk of stormers and citadels.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Intelsat’s leadership rapidly green-lighted the campaign to set up internet citadels.—
Kevin Holden Platt,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Here are six of the most notable castles in Italy.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Eventually building sand castles at the beach with his kids.—
Michelle Marchante,
Miami Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Massive cannons were stationed at forts across the world, while smaller and more-portable guns accompanied troops and naval (and pirate) vessels.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The online game, which has a variety of modes, allows players to fight one another, build forts and explore the virtual world.—
Samantha Masunaga,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastions. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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