as in strongholds
a structure or place from which one can resist attack
the boys built a snow fortress and then challenged the neighborhood kids to an in-your-face snowball fight
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Recent Examples of fortresses
Collective investments in resilience are cheaper than everyone building their own fortresses.
—
Haley Ott, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
Tour the fortresses, stroll through the town’s central market, and visit Spianada Square, the largest square in Greece.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2026
While the prison grounds have no high fences, the prison units exist as separate fortresses, successors to the long wooden barracks that were once here.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
Secure capitals While both India and Pakistan have historically faced significant security threats, their capitals are meant to be fortresses – home to the seats of government, military leadership, and the diplomatic corps.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025
Andermatt, Switzerland High in the Alps, where trains wind through snowbound passes and peaks rise like fortresses, Andermatt is one of Switzerland’s most dynamic winter destinations.
—Mark Ellwood, AFAR Media, 7 Nov. 2025
Such structures, including residences and fortresses, were created by religious authorities and noble families, according to the city’s tourism website.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2025
For many Americans, universities appear more like fortresses than forums.
—Nicholas Dirks, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Sleek architecture marries centuries-old fortresses—while locals swap skis for kayaks, depending on the season.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Haley Ott, CBS News, 21 Jan. 2026
Tour the fortresses, stroll through the town’s central market, and visit Spianada Square, the largest square in Greece.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 15 Jan. 2026
While the prison grounds have no high fences, the prison units exist as separate fortresses, successors to the long wooden barracks that were once here.
—Literary Hub, 14 Jan. 2026
Secure capitals While both India and Pakistan have historically faced significant security threats, their capitals are meant to be fortresses – home to the seats of government, military leadership, and the diplomatic corps.
—Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 12 Nov. 2025
Andermatt, Switzerland High in the Alps, where trains wind through snowbound passes and peaks rise like fortresses, Andermatt is one of Switzerland’s most dynamic winter destinations.
—Mark Ellwood, AFAR Media, 7 Nov. 2025
Such structures, including residences and fortresses, were created by religious authorities and noble families, according to the city’s tourism website.
—Sam Gillette, PEOPLE, 3 Nov. 2025
For many Americans, universities appear more like fortresses than forums.
—Nicholas Dirks, Time, 16 Oct. 2025
Sleek architecture marries centuries-old fortresses—while locals swap skis for kayaks, depending on the season.
—Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fortresses
Noun
-
Now, only small pockets of staghorn colonies remain farther north, including near Fort Lauderdale, where reefs around Port Everglades now represent one of the species’ last natural strongholds in the continental United States.—
Teresa Tomassoni,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Jan. 2026
-
Electoral officials face questions about the failure of biometric voter identification machines, which caused delays Thursday in the start of voting in urban areas — including the capital, Kampala — that are opposition strongholds.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Passmore’s magisterial, revisionist account of the Maginot Line—the network of French fortifications built in the 1920s and 1930s to stop a German invasion—challenges the conventional understanding of its role in World War II.—
Foreign Affairs,
Foreign Affairs,
16 Dec. 2025
-
Ammunition, uniforms, and fortifications contribute to GDP but do not improve long-term welfare or capital formation.—
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld,
Time,
16 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
In her conversations with health officials around the country, Balfour has found that there is increasing backlash towards the growing number of people who are unhoused, even in liberal bastions such as San Francisco and Seattle.—
O. Rose Broderick,
STAT,
2 Jan. 2026
-
After tenures at Atlanta bastions like Miller Union, pastry chef Claudia Martinez is now taking the driver’s seat with a star-studded crew behind her.—
Su-Jit Lin,
Southern Living,
17 Dec. 2025
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
-
The rousing trailer finds Prince Adam bored to death hiding out at a generic corporate desk job on Earth when his precious sword is discovered, which sends him on a wild odyssey back to the land of Eternia and its talking tigers, spaceships, gothic castles, and magic swords.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Seeped in history, Messinia is rich with classical temples, Byzantine churches, and craggy medieval castles (a stomp up to the ruins at Pylos is a must, for the breathtaking 360-degree views).—
Jemima Sissons,
Condé Nast Traveler,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Our chairs are for sitting on, not for constructing elaborate forts.—
Eddie Small,
New Yorker,
6 Jan. 2026
-
From ancient forts and settlements to Roman roads, some of England’s most impressive Neolithic monuments can be found here.—
Andrea Bussell,
Travel + Leisure,
27 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fortresses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fortresses. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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