fortification

noun

ˌfȯr-tə-fə-ˈkā-shən How to pronounce fortification (audio)
Definition of fortificationnext
as in fortress
a structure or place from which one can resist attack defenders at the border fortifications preparing for an attack

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 fortification Launched in 2024, MICAS occupies restored 17th-century Floriana fortifications, a former Knights-era poorhouse, and a gunpowder store in Malta’s Baroque capital city Valletta. — The Editors Of Artnews, ARTnews.com, 27 July 2026 The discovery was made beneath an Israelite-period ritual deposit and adjacent to an ancient Canaanite fortification wall, according to the excavation team. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 19 July 2026 Layered air-defense systems Iran complements physical fortification with air-defense systems positioned around strategically important military and industrial areas. — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026 Spanish forces completed the coquina stone fortress in 1695 on the site of an earlier wooden fortification. — Lane Degregory, The Orlando Sentinel, 10 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for fortification
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fortification
  1. fortress
  2. stronghold
  3. citadel
  4. bastion
  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
  • But because the system is a stronghold for the endangered Alabama cave shrimp, monitoring teams have explored the cave nearly every month since the early 1990s.
    — Elizabeth Anne Brown, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026
  • That historic exodus helped turn the Republic of Korea, as South Korea is formally known, into a stronghold of the Christian faith and one of the world’s biggest exporters of missionaries.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of stronghold
Noun
  • Castellón To the north, Castellón unfolds as a mountainous marvel where medieval citadels, golden beaches, and tiny fishing villages create a landscape of contrasts, with the scent of citrus perfuming the air.
    — Condé Nast Traveler, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026
  • One night, a cockroach breaches his citadel, and Pratt swiftly dispatches it.
    — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of citadel
Noun
  • The area was incredibly special to Chamberlain, who first came out East to stay with Larry Rivers in Southampton, long before the town was a bastion of Sant Ambroeus and Brandy Melville.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026
  • He was tracked down in the town of Jesús María, a bastion of Los Chapitos on the outskirts of Culiacán, where another of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, was arrested after a firefight in 2023.
    — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of bastion
Noun
  • Aargau Cantonal Police said one person was killed and five others were wounded after shots were fired at the event in the town of Aarau, a scenic area known for its lush valleys, medieval castles and thermal springs.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The mountains, castles, and ruins of Ashina enable a unique traversal system.
    — Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of castle
Noun
  • The spa, in the fort’s ancient temple, blends Ayurveda with Six Senses’ inimitable touch.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Just across the sidewalk from the West Martello Tower, a Civil War-era fort where the Garden Club is housed, lies an unkempt field of grass, worn out by dehydration and footsteps.
    — Oliver Wu, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of fort

Browse Nearby Words

forthwith
fortification
fortifications
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Cite this Entry

“Fortification.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fortification. Accessed 8 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fortification

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fortification

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