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
The surge in costs reflects a major shift for Chicago, known as one of the last bastions of big-city affordability.
—
Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
Israeli officials further compounded those fears Wednesday, with Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-language spokesman, accusing Hezbollah of moving beyond its traditional bastions of support in the southern suburbs of the capital and embedding itself in north Beirut and mixed neighborhoods.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
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
Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 14 Apr. 2026
Israeli officials further compounded those fears Wednesday, with Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-language spokesman, accusing Hezbollah of moving beyond its traditional bastions of support in the southern suburbs of the capital and embedding itself in north Beirut and mixed neighborhoods.
—Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bastions
Noun
-
Additionally, independent candidates aligned with the Democratic Party raised more than Republican Senate incumbents in the deep red strongholds of Montana and Nebraska last quarter.—
Stephen Fowler,
NPR,
23 Apr. 2026
-
The Republican has leveled similar threats against Dallas and Austin, which are also Democratic strongholds with similar law enforcement and immigration policies.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 Apr. 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
-
The area that would be renamed Donnyland under the plan is 50 miles long and 40 miles wide, but holds Ukraine’s best fortifications.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Apr. 2026
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Over many years, Iran has built underground fortifications and facilities to protect its missile and drone inventory.—
Daniel Kurtzer,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
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
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The surrounding countryside is all rolling vineyards, quaint little villages, and majestic old castles.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
-
Once tulip season ends, the ship moves to the Danube and Rhine rivers on eight- to 17-day sailings filled with castles, capital cities, and holiday markets, depending on the time of year.—
Susan B. Barnes,
Travel + Leisure,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Discover over 3 miles of beaches, hundreds of years of history (see old military forts and the iconic black-and-white Tybee Island Light Station, built in 1773), and lots of opportunities to explore nature.—
Lisa Cericola,
Southern Living,
17 Apr. 2026
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The forts, palaces, gardens, mosques, mausoleums, and even cities that Mughal rulers commissioned reflect their ambition and affluence as much as their tastes and sensibilities.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
15 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bastions.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bastions. Accessed 28 Apr. 2026.
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