stout

1 able to withstand hardship, strain, or exposure erected a stout wooden fence to keep the wild animals out Synonyms cast-iron, hard, hard-bitten, hardened, inured, rugged, hardy, strong, sturdy, tough, toughened, vigorousRelated Words flinty, leathery, resilient, stalwart; durable, enduring, everlasting, immortal, imperishable, lasting, permanent, stable, staunch (also stanch), staying, tenacious, unyielding; flourishing, prospering, thriving; able-bodied, brawny, muscular; fit, fortified, hale, healthy, husky, lusty, red-blooded, robust, sound, strapping, virile; annealed, seasoned, temperedNear Antonyms emasculated, enervated, enfeebled, exhausted, run-down, sapped, wasted, weakened, worn, worn out; crippled, debilitated, diseased, incapacitated, infirm, unsound; fragile, frail, puny; resistless, sensitive, susceptible, unresistant, vulnerable, yielding; mortal, perishable, temporary, transientAntonyms delicate, nonhardy, soft, tender, weak

2 being compact and broad in build and often short in stature the wrestler is stout in build, so he is frequently underestimated by his opponents Synonyms chunky, dumpy, heavyset, squat, squatty, stocky, stubby, stumpy, thicksetRelated Words beefy, brawny, bulky, burly, husky, sturdy, thick, thickish, weighty; chubby, corpulent, fat, fleshy, full, gross, heavy, obese, overweight, plump, portly, pudgy, roly-poly, rotund, round, tubby; paunchy, potbellied; flabby, softNear Antonyms delicate, fragile, frail, puny; lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin; angular, bony (also boney), gaunt, lank, lanky, rawboned, sinewy; scraggy, scrawny, slight; anorexic, cadaverous, emaciated, haggard, skeletal, wasted; spindly, twiggy, waspish, weedy, willowy, wiry

3 feeling or displaying no fear by temperament stout souls who boldly ventured forward, not knowing what kinds of danger they faced Synonyms bold, courageous, dauntless, doughty, fearless, gallant, greathearted, gutsy, gutty, heroic (also heroical), intrepid, lionhearted, manful, stalwart, brave, stouthearted, undauntable, undaunted, valiant, valorousRelated Words determined, firm, game, gamy (or gamey), gritty, plucky, resolute, Spartan, undeterred, undismayed, unflinching, unswerving; mettlesome, spirited, spunky; adventuresome, adventurous, audacious, daring, dashing, hardy, venturesome, venturous; crazy, foolish, half-witted, insane, lunatic, mad, nutty; brash, brazen, daredevil, foolhardy, heedless, hotheaded, impetuous, imprudent, impulsive, incautious, madcap, overbold, overconfident, rash, reckless, thoughtless, wild; hasty, headlong, precipitate; comforted, emboldened, encouraged, heartened, reassured, unafraidNear Antonyms diffident, mousy (or mousey), scary, shy, skittish, timid; anxious, apprehensive, nervous; careful, cautious, heedful, prudent, unadventurous; afraid, agitated, disconcerted, disquieted, disturbed, frightened, horrified, panicked, panic-stricken, perturbed, scared, shocked, spooked, startled, terrified, terrorized, unnerved, upset; appalled, concerned, dismayed, worried; unmanly, weak, wimpyAntonyms chicken, chickenhearted, chicken-livered, coward, cowardly, craven, dastardly, fainthearted, fearful, gutless, lily-livered, milk-livered [archaic], nerveless, poltroon, poor-spirited, pusillanimous, spineless, spiritless, timorous, uncourageous, ungallant, unheroic, weakhearted, yellow

4 having muscles capable of exerting great physical force covered wagons drawn by stout oxen Synonyms brawny, muscular, rugged, sinewy, stalwart, strongRelated Words forceful, forcible, mighty, potent, powerful, puissant; able-bodied, athletic, fit, trim; beefy, burly, husky, strapping; masculine, virile; hard, inured, strengthened, sturdy, tough, toughened; energetic, energized, invigorated, lusty, red-blooded, robust, vigorous, vitalized; hale, healthy, hearty, soundNear Antonyms challenged, disabled, incapacitated, paralyzed; impotent, powerless; puny, slight, small, unathletic, unfit, unhealthyAntonyms delicate, feeble, frail, weak, weakling, wimpy

5 not showing weakness or uncertainty a stout defender of women's rights in the third world Synonyms forceful, hearty, iron, lusty, robust, solid, firm, strong, sturdy, vigorousRelated Words hard, ironclad, mighty, powerful, tough, unyielding; animated, brisk, energetic, frisky, jaunty, jazzy, lively, peppy, perky, spirited, sprightful, sprightly, springy, vital, vivacious, zippy; assured, certain, confident, sanguine, secure, sureNear Antonyms feeble, fragile, frail; limp, listless, spiritless; diffident, insecure, self-doubting; characterless, effete, frail, spineless, weakened, weak-kneed, wimpy, wishy-washyAntonyms uncertain, weak