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
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
While rural areas remain conservative bastions, farmers’ patience with Washington is wearing thin.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025
Shrinking freedoms Institutions like Delhi University have long been celebrated as bastions of free speech and secular thought.
—Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
The leaders’ reluctance came after last year’s election saw Republicans make notable gains in reliably blue bastions like New Jersey and New York, with some in the party blaming the shift on polarizing social issues embraced by the left.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2025
Two men who represent two different bastions of power — God and country — in Oklahoma are making sermons of a kind.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Instead, Tuttle suffered 10 rejections in a row, including hard passes from indie bastions like Sundance and SXSW.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 8 Oct. 2025
Sports, one of the last bastions of bipartisan broadcast TV viewing, is apt to keep the network-station binary from completely dissolving.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 20 Sep. 2025
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
While rural areas remain conservative bastions, farmers’ patience with Washington is wearing thin.
—Josh Funk, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2025
Shrinking freedoms Institutions like Delhi University have long been celebrated as bastions of free speech and secular thought.
—Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 16 Nov. 2025
The leaders’ reluctance came after last year’s election saw Republicans make notable gains in reliably blue bastions like New Jersey and New York, with some in the party blaming the shift on polarizing social issues embraced by the left.
—Caroline Vakil, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2025
Two men who represent two different bastions of power — God and country — in Oklahoma are making sermons of a kind.
—Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 29 Oct. 2025
Instead, Tuttle suffered 10 rejections in a row, including hard passes from indie bastions like Sundance and SXSW.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 8 Oct. 2025
Sports, one of the last bastions of bipartisan broadcast TV viewing, is apt to keep the network-station binary from completely dissolving.
—Dade Hayes, Deadline, 20 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastions
Noun
-
McDonald said DeSantis also could be trying to shore up Republican strongholds to mitigate the losses generally experienced by the party in power during midterm elections.—
Mike Schneider,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Immigration operations that started last summer in liberal strongholds such as Chicago,Los Angeles and Portland also generated large protests.—
Nicholas Riccardi,
Fortune,
8 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Verdant hillsides dotted with colorful cottages and colonial-era fortresses reveal a vibrant city life.—
Carley Rojas Avila,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Secure capitals While both India and Pakistan have historically faced significant security threats, their capitals are meant to be fortresses – home to the seats of government, military leadership, and the diplomatic corps.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
12 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Passmore’s magisterial, revisionist account of the Maginot Line—the network of French fortifications built in the 1920s and 1930s to stop a German invasion—challenges the conventional understanding of its role in World War II.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
-
Ammunition, uniforms, and fortifications contribute to GDP but do not improve long-term welfare or capital formation.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
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
-
The Windsors’ real estate portfolio is far from shabby, but the centuries-old castles lack a personal touch from their modern-day inhabitants.—
Bailey Bujnosek,
InStyle,
12 Jan. 2026
-
At the Minnesota State Fairgrounds, ice artists create walk-through castles with tunnels, slides and frozen fountains etched into natural-looking formations.—
Ginger Crichton,
Midwest Living,
9 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Our chairs are for sitting on, not for constructing elaborate forts.—
Eddie Small,
New Yorker,
6 Jan. 2026
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From ancient forts and settlements to Roman roads, some of England’s most impressive Neolithic monuments can be found here.—
Andrea Bussell,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bastions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastions. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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