Synonyms of mettle

mettle

noun

as in strength

strength of spirit; ability to continue despite difficulties

He showed his mettle as a fighter tonight with a heroic comeback.

Synonyms & Similar Words

• strength
• stamina
• power
• courage
• grit
• determination
• courageousness
• vigor
• muscle
• fortitude
• potency
• might
• backbone
• puissance
• verve
• life
• brio
• chutzpah
• vitality
• hardihood
• gumption
• dash
• spunk
• ginger
• gusto
• dynamism
• pep
• bounce
• starch
• vinegar
• esprit
• heart
• energy
• main
• temper
• zing
• vim
• juice
• moxie
• pluck
• gas
• punch
• drive
• get-up-and-go
• spirit
• zip
• perseverance
• beans
• fiber
• nerve
• sap
• guts
• go
• pluckiness
• oomph
• gutsiness
• resolution
• snap
• vivacity
• zeal
• spiritedness
• sprightliness
• liveliness
• animation
• vibrancy
• fire
• intestinal fortitude
• fervor
• animal spirits
• briskness
• ardor
• passion
• spunkiness
• élan
• vivaciousness
• jauntiness
• vibrance
• snappiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• cowardice
• timidity
• spinelessness
• fearfulness
• cowardliness
• weakness
• tenderness
• cold feet
• cravenness
• poltroonery
• feebleness
• softness
• impotence
• dastardliness
• frailty
• delicacy
• infirmity
• timorousness
• powerlessness
• debility
• faintheartedness
• impotency
• faintness
• debilitation
• enfeeblement
• slightness
• mousiness
• disablement
• puniness
• frailness

Synonym Chooser

How is the word mettle distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of mettle are courage, resolution, spirit, and tenacity. While all these words mean "mental or moral strength to resist opposition, danger, or hardship," mettle suggests an ingrained capacity for meeting strain or difficulty with fortitude and resilience.

a challenge that will test your mettle

When can courage be used instead of mettle?

While the synonyms courage and mettle are close in meaning, courage implies firmness of mind and will in the face of danger or extreme difficulty.

the courage to support unpopular causes

When could resolution be used to replace mettle?

The words resolution and mettle are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, resolution stresses firm determination to achieve one's ends.

the resolution of pioneer women

When might spirit be a better fit than mettle?

The meanings of spirit and mettle largely overlap; however, spirit also suggests a quality of temperament enabling one to hold one's own or keep up one's morale when opposed or threatened.

her spirit was unbroken by failure

How do tenacity and resolution relate to one another, in the sense of mettle?

Tenacity adds to resolution implications of stubborn persistence and unwillingness to admit defeat.

held to their beliefs with great tenacity

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of mettle

Played with exuberance by Jacob Laval, Austin is a disrupter and catalyst, a lesson in joyful mettle to everyone around him — especially his parents (Zachary Levi and Meghann Fahy). —Sheri Linden, New York Times, 20 Feb. 2025

Gold showed its mettle (so to speak) on Black Monday in 1987, amid the popping of the dot-com bubble in 2001, during the Great Financial Crisis of 2008 and also the pandemic’s onset in 2020. —Larry Light, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025

He is also worshiped in Canada for his skill, mettle and scoring of the gold medal-winning overtime goal in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. —Billy Witz, New York Times, 6 Apr. 2025

Another film, premiering next year, will create an immersive extreme sports environment to test attendees’ mettle. —Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 4 Apr. 2025

Phrases Containing mettle

• on one's mettle

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