1
as in fortresses
a structure or place from which one can resist attack
the implacable attackers placed the castle under a prolonged siege
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in mansions
a large impressive residence
the mining tycoon built a magnificent castle on the hill overlooking the town
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of castles
One of England’s great private castles, home to the Dent-Brocklehurst family since the 1830s, Sudeley Castle is the final resting place of Katherine Parr, the last wife of Henry VIII.
—
Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2026
Between Christmas towns, kids can splash around in the small indoor pool or patrol the top deck for Elsa-worthy castles lining the banks of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley.
—Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
But today nobody complains about the cost of his castles.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2026
Trails weave through medieval castles, moorland and rugged coastlines.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
Northumberland, in the United Kingdom, weaves trails through medieval sites — castles, moorland and rugged coastlines.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Maastricht, The Netherlands — Arguably as beautiful as Amsterdam and far less crowded, Maastricht sits on both sides of the Meuse River, surrounded by stunning countryside and historic castles.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 June 2026
The centerpiece is the massive ice sculptures built specifically for the event — full-scale buildings, castles and figures carved from blocks of ice harvested from the Songhua River.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 2 June 2026
They were set in crumbling castles and moldering dungeons—that is, amid the rubble of a collapsing social order.
—Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 13 June 2026
Between Christmas towns, kids can splash around in the small indoor pool or patrol the top deck for Elsa-worthy castles lining the banks of the Upper Middle Rhine Valley.
—Ashlea Halpern, Condé Nast Traveler, 11 June 2026
But today nobody complains about the cost of his castles.
—Tribune News Service, Baltimore Sun, 8 June 2026
Trails weave through medieval castles, moorland and rugged coastlines.
—Hanna Wickes, Kansas City Star, 4 June 2026
Northumberland, in the United Kingdom, weaves trails through medieval sites — castles, moorland and rugged coastlines.
—Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 4 June 2026
Maastricht, The Netherlands — Arguably as beautiful as Amsterdam and far less crowded, Maastricht sits on both sides of the Meuse River, surrounded by stunning countryside and historic castles.
—Hanna Wickes, Charlotte Observer, 3 June 2026
The centerpiece is the massive ice sculptures built specifically for the event — full-scale buildings, castles and figures carved from blocks of ice harvested from the Songhua River.
—Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 2 June 2026
They were set in crumbling castles and moldering dungeons—that is, amid the rubble of a collapsing social order.
—Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 1 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for castles
Noun
-
The trailers show that Eternia was once a vibrant alien-like world with multi-colored forests, massive mountains and fortresses with towering faces carved into their entrances.—
Caroline Reid,
Forbes.com,
25 May 2026
-
And by the turn of the twenty-first century, most of those tiny bungalows had been replaced by sprawling estates—fortresses for the entertainment elite, where Oscar trophies adorned mantels and wealth guarded from disaster.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 May 2026
Noun
-
Starting more than a decade ago, Griffin has spent four hundred and fifty million dollars to buy the land and level a few incumbent mansions, one of which was eighteen thousand square feet.—
Gary Sernovitz,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
-
The 35-room Villa Miraé is a much-welcome exception that mirrors the peninsula’s tony mansions with its elegant take on the Riviera’s pastel Provençal architecture.—
Lane Nieset,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
Noun
-
With nearly all the votes counted, Angelenos are now getting a more granular understanding of the strongholds built up by each of the top three mayoral candidates.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
13 June 2026
-
Valdez holds a narrow lead in polling of the race that analysts see as a test of Mamdani’s popularity in the district that includes progressive strongholds in western Queens and northern Brooklyn.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
12 June 2026
Noun
-
And, of course, there are plenty of castles, estates, and old manors to get your history fix.—
Lindsay Cohn,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
-
Blackwood, with her firsthand knowledge of drafty manors and unhinged families, explains with remorseless precision what lies behind the fantasy—what happens when the houses, and the people in them, are neither charismatic nor lovable.—
Rachel Syme,
New Yorker,
10 June 2026
Noun
-
Cannons and fortifications are also on the grounds.—
USA TODAY Network,
USA Today,
10 June 2026
-
Built as a Crusader castle around the 12th century on top of previous fortifications, it has also been used by Saladin’s Jerusalem army, Mamluks, Ottomans, the French and the Palestine Liberation Organization.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 May 2026
Noun
-
The gringos are coming, and Latour must shore up the diocese, trekking between isolated haciendas and pueblos with his quasi-spousal companion Father Vaillant.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
7 Jan. 2026
-
While arched passageways reference those found in classic haciendas, the walls are hand-finished in quintessentially Mexican chukum plaster.—
Adrian Madlener,
Curbed,
6 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
One of the oldest citadels in the Middle East, Jerash has seen an unbroken chain of human occupation since the Bronze Age.—
Hanna Wickes,
Charlotte Observer,
3 June 2026
-
The story is a bit murkier than Manichaean talk of stormers and citadels.—
Jon Allsop,
New Yorker,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
And, of course, there are plenty of castles, estates, and old manors to get your history fix.—
Lindsay Cohn,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
-
Yet the gallery’s website currently lists 104 artists and estates.—
Daniel Cassady,
ARTnews.com,
9 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Castles.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/castles. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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