fortifications

noun

plural of fortification
as in fortresses
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 fortifications Meanwhile, North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, tactical roads, anti-tank walls and other fortifications to what's already one of the world's most heavily armed borders. — Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026 Last month, two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded by what Seoul says were North Korean mines planted as part of those fortifications. — Anna Coren, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, anti-tank barriers and other fortifications to what’s already one of the world’s most heavily armed borders as Kim Jong Un pushes a hard line toward Seoul. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 North Korean Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon inspected fortifications on the border with South Korea on Tuesday, accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, KCNA reported. — Reuters, NBC news, 21 Oct. 2026 North Korean Army Marshal Pak Jong Chon inspected fortifications on the border with South Korea on Tuesday, accompanied by Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong ​Un, KCNA reported. — Reuters, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 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 The historic military fort overlooks the entrance to the Halifax Harbour and boasts old fortifications, historic artifacts, and unbeatable ocean views. — Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026 That is, in part, because Ukraine has built additional lines of defense with fortifications and minefields. — Alexander Gabuev, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fortifications
  1. fortresses
  2. strongholds
  3. bastions
  4. forts
  5. citadels
  6. castles
Noun
  • The history of castles is, of course, also filled with gruesome details, and some of the most famous fortresses served as prisons and sites of torture and execution.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The structures include monasteries and fortresses that showcase the reign of the Lombards, who played a major role in the development of medieval European Christianity.
    — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of fortresses
Noun
  • Tuesday's midterm elections catapulted Democratic Senate and gubernatorial candidates to statewide victories in Republican strongholds like Ohio and Texas, both of which play host to a number of AI data centers.
    — Max Zahn, ABC News, 5 Nov. 2026
  • Democrats won the House, the Senate, and a majority of governorships, penetrating deep into historically red strongholds like Texas, Kansas, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
    — Aidan McLaughlin, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of strongholds
Noun
  • At the start of this election cycle, the notion that Democrats would seriously compete in such deep-red bastions as Kansas, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas would have seemed absurd.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • So far in Orange County, one of the Florida’s few blue bastions, Democrats account for roughly half of the ballots cast.
    — Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of bastions
Noun
  • Jones examines the role America has played in the broader history of castles, from early fortifications to Civil War-era forts.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Black public figures mingle with slave forts and the most vaunted creations of high art.
    — Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of forts
Noun
  • And yet Trump wants to turn the White House and an outpost on the Potomac into similar citadels, with little regard for why America’s capital city was named for one of its greatest examples of unadorned republican virtue.
    — Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of citadels
Noun
  • So, rather than castles and stony ramparts, visitors encounter farms and sleepy villages.
    — Rick Steves, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2026
  • In a technology park, not far from 13th century castles, medieval ruins and picturesque villages, stands Troy Studios.
    — Stacy Perman, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of castles

Browse Nearby Words

fortification
fortifications
fortified
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Cite this Entry

“Fortifications.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fortifications. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

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