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
Some, like France's Maginot Line, became border fortresses stretching for miles, while German coastal defenses sat on the cliffs of Normandy, requiring the Allies to take out with sea bombardments and direct infantry assaults.
—
David Szondy
june 23,
New Atlas,
23 June 2026
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And by the turn of the twenty-first century, most of those tiny bungalows had been replaced by sprawling estates—fortresses for the entertainment elite, where Oscar trophies adorned mantels and wealth guarded from disaster.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,
13 May 2026
Any pivot toward diplomacy that includes sanctions relief — whether proposed in Washington or Berlin — ignores the fundamental Machiavellian truth that a regime hated by its own people cannot be saved by its external fortresses, but it can be artificially sustained by foreign gold.
—
Liram Koblentz-Stenzler,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
The eccentric design of Olana was inspired by fortresses in Persia (where, curiously, Church hadn’t travelled), as well as Italian, East Indian, Gothic Revival, and French Second Empire architecture.
—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
The hilltop structures were originally built as Catholic shrines dedicated to the virgins they're named after, but were turned into military fortresses in the early 1800s—they have since been rehabilitated for tourism.
—
Christin Parcerisa Vigueras,
Travel + Leisure,
30 Apr. 2026
Surface tanks are targets; subsurface reservoirs are fortresses.
—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, history buffs will love exploring the island’s capital via colorful Spanish-colonial architecture and imposing, ancient fortresses like La Fortaleza and El Morro.
—
Brittany Chang,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
David Szondy
june 23,
New Atlas,
23 June 2026
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,
13 May 2026
Any pivot toward diplomacy that includes sanctions relief — whether proposed in Washington or Berlin — ignores the fundamental Machiavellian truth that a regime hated by its own people cannot be saved by its external fortresses, but it can be artificially sustained by foreign gold.
—
Liram Koblentz-Stenzler,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
The eccentric design of Olana was inspired by fortresses in Persia (where, curiously, Church hadn’t travelled), as well as Italian, East Indian, Gothic Revival, and French Second Empire architecture.
—
Sebastian Smee,
New Yorker,
4 May 2026
The hilltop structures were originally built as Catholic shrines dedicated to the virgins they're named after, but were turned into military fortresses in the early 1800s—they have since been rehabilitated for tourism.
—
Christin Parcerisa Vigueras,
Travel + Leisure,
30 Apr. 2026
Surface tanks are targets; subsurface reservoirs are fortresses.
—
Siddharth Misra,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, history buffs will love exploring the island’s capital via colorful Spanish-colonial architecture and imposing, ancient fortresses like La Fortaleza and El Morro.
—
Brittany Chang,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fortresses
Noun
-
More than 140 polling stations were closed on voting day in the country’s two most-populous regions, Amhara and Oromo — both opposition strongholds — over safety concerns sparked by armed groups fighting the government.
-
As a result, Democrats make inroads even on longtime local Republican strongholds.
Noun
-
By the Second World War, pillboxes had become standard defense fortifications.
-
Cannons and fortifications are also on the grounds.
Noun
-
These organizations claim to be bastions of journalism, Defenders of Democracy, and heroes in the fight for truth in government.
-
Bored Lord and AceMo, longtime bastions of their respective coastal scenes, offer up two rumbling club heaters.
Noun
-
One of the oldest citadels in the Middle East, Jerash has seen an unbroken chain of human occupation since the Bronze Age.
-
The story is a bit murkier than Manichaean talk of stormers and citadels.
Noun
-
The plan also urges African countries to preserve former slave forts and castles as memorial sites.
-
Nolan and the cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, wielding heavy IMAX cameras, shot their picture across the Mediterranean and beyond, in caves, castles, beaches, black-sand wastes, and open water.
Noun
-
But everyday people expressed their political outrage time and again, throwing rocks at and demolishing the houses of government officials, torching the king’s ships and forts and, eventually, marching to battle.
-
The plan also urges African countries to preserve former slave forts and castles as memorial sites.
Cite this Entry
“Fortresses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fortresses. Accessed 2 Jul. 2026.
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