as in strength
strength of spirit; ability to continue despite difficulties
He showed his mettle as a fighter tonight with a heroic comeback.
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Recent Examples of mettle
The Mavericks will use the Summer League to test Cooper Flagg’s mettle.
—
Don Yaeger, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Daredevils seeking an early version of viral fame tested their mettle by sitting atop flagpoles for days at a time, going over Niagara Falls in a barrel or walking on the wings of airplanes in flight.
—Nick Woltman, Twin Cities, 6 July 2025
The Dream is a deep team with plenty of options available to step up, but this will be a good test of their mettle.
—Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025
The film which depicts an aging, former pro racer who's pushed by a teammate (Javier Bardem) to test his mettle on the blacktop again had to slay a dragon to secure the gold.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mettle
Don Yaeger, Forbes.com, 15 July 2025
Daredevils seeking an early version of viral fame tested their mettle by sitting atop flagpoles for days at a time, going over Niagara Falls in a barrel or walking on the wings of airplanes in flight.
—Nick Woltman, Twin Cities, 6 July 2025
The Dream is a deep team with plenty of options available to step up, but this will be a good test of their mettle.
—Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 July 2025
The film which depicts an aging, former pro racer who's pushed by a teammate (Javier Bardem) to test his mettle on the blacktop again had to slay a dragon to secure the gold.
—Ryan Coleman, EW.com, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for mettle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mettle
Noun
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Europe’s traditionally weaker economies have outperformed the core countries in recent years, and now nations like Spain, Italy, and Portugal as well as Greece can borrow at the same costs as France and Germany, a sign both of their strength and the European giants’ weakness.—
Tom Chivers,
semafor.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Everything will depend on this – the Russians factor in American strength.—
Franco Ordoñez,
NPR,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
At 63, Jin-Xiong She, PhD, plays tennis with stamina that seems to defy his age.—
Malana VanTyler,
USA Today,
11 Aug. 2025
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Rome is bucket-list territory, but a day trip via Civitavecchia demands stamina and smart planning.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
10 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Such programming has been a major hit for Netflix since debuting WWE Raw in January, and Disney is clearly hoping for something of the same regular tune-in power for its sports app.—
David Bloom,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
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Protests throughout the spring and summer have demonstrated significant (and even international) opposition to the Trump Administration’s agenda, particularly its attempts to consolidate power and undermine key institutions and services.—
Time,
Time,
7 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Your skills, your experience, and your courage have never been more essential.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Aug. 2025
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His reactions, his resilience, hunger, ambition and courage impressed amid the acrimony of defeat after defeat.—
Andy Mitten,
New York Times,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Mettle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mettle. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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