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citadel

noun

ˈsi-tə-dᵊl How to pronounce citadel (audio)
Definition of citadelnext
as in fortress
a structure or place from which one can resist attack a massive stone citadel continues to command the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of citadel 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 Paton, 52, was in Peru with his wife to hike the Inca Trail, a popular route that ends at Machu Picchu, a citadel built by the Incas in the 15th century. — Sam Peters, CNN Money, 22 May 2026 The new vow to speed the globe’s flora and fauna to a second-world citadel represented a remarkable philanthropic expansion of Musk’s overarching Mars missions. — Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2026 Craig Proctor, the childhood friend who played Dungeons & Dragons with him, told me that Friedmann once showed him architectural floor plans for a citadel that Friedmann’s thief-rogue avatar would oversee. — James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for citadel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for citadel
  1. fortress
  2. stronghold
  3. bastion
  4. fortification
  5. castle
  6. fort
Noun
  • Holding their accounts on freeze like a fortress are smarmy bank managers who laugh in the face of Beirut citizens who attempt a demand on their own funds.
    — Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Most of them can’t afford to outfit their own individual townhouses like armed fortresses as Swift has.
    — Bridget Read, Curbed, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of fortress
Noun
  • Moody has so far refused to debate Nixon, hoping instead to ride political gravity in a formerly purple state that has become a Republican stronghold.
    — Zoe Millán, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
  • During the final phase of the war in Gaza, Israel and the United States caused significant military and economic damage to Houthi strongholds in Yemen.
    — April Longley Alley, Foreign Affairs, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of stronghold
Noun
  • The following year she was elected to the Italian parliament for the maverick Radical Party, a bastion of anticlericalism, civil libertarianism, feminism, liberalism and radicalism in Italy.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Daria served as the anti-Barbie, anti-cool kid, anti-corporate (though, of course, MTV…) bastion of hope in a culture that seemed increasingly removed from itself.
    — Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of bastion
Noun
  • Pancho opposed the fortification of the town, although most of his siblings supported it.
    — Kate Linthicum, Los Angeles Times, 6 Sep. 2026
  • During the seven years that it was occupied by British forces, Manhattan had been ravaged by fires, picked over by looters, covered in fortifications, and swollen with refugees.
    — Eric Lach, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of fortification
Noun
  • The movie will shoot in a castle near the famous Loch Ness, just outside Inverness in Scotland.
    — Andreas Wiseman, Deadline, 13 Sep. 2026
  • For one thing, a positive surface swab still wouldn’t confirm the castle was the source.
    — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of castle
Noun
  • The fort has long been used for events and recreation, but many of its historic buildings still need major work.
    — Elaine Rojas-Castillo, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2026
  • The garrison’s enormous flag was waving on its flagpole, some 90 feet high—a clear signal that the American fort had survived the Battle of Baltimore.
    — Michele Metych Britannica Editors Sep. 11, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of fort

Browse Nearby Words

citable
citadel
citadels
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Cite this Entry

“Citadel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/citadel. Accessed 17 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on citadel

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about citadel

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