Hypertext Webster Gateway: "Strength"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Strength \Strength\, v. t.
To strengthen. [Obs.] --Chaucer.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Strength \Strength\, n. [OE. strengthe, AS. streng[eth]u, fr.
strang strong. See {Strong}.]
1. The quality or state of being strong; ability to do or to
bear; capacity for exertion or endurance, whether
physical, intellectual, or moral; force; vigor; power; as,
strength of body or of the arm; strength of mind, of
memory, or of judgment.

All his [Samson's] strength in his hairs were.
--Chaucer.

Thou must outlive Thy youth, thy strength, thy
beauty. --Milton.

2. Power to resist force; solidity or toughness; the quality
of bodies by which they endure the application of force
without breaking or yielding; -- in this sense opposed to
{frangibility}; as, the strength of a bone, of a beam, of
a wall, a rope, and the like. ``The brittle strength of
bones.'' --Milton.

3. Power of resisting attacks; impregnability. ``Our castle's
strength will laugh a siege to scorn.'' --Shak.

4. That quality which tends to secure results; effective
power in an institution or enactment; security; validity;
legal or moral force; logical conclusiveness; as, the
strength of social or legal obligations; the strength of
law; the strength of public opinion; strength of evidence;
strength of argument.

5. One who, or that which, is regarded as embodying or
affording force, strength, or firmness; that on which
confidence or reliance is based; support; security.

God is our refuge and strength. --Ps. xlvi. 1.

What they boded would be a mischief to us, you are
providing shall be one of our principal strengths.
--Sprat.

Certainly there is not a greater strength against
temptation. --Jer. Taylor.

6. Force as measured; amount, numbers, or power of any body,
as of an army, a navy, and the like; as, what is the
strength of the enemy by land, or by sea?

7. Vigor or style; force of expression; nervous diction; --
said of literary work.

And praise the easy vigor of a life Where Denham's
strength and Waller's sweetness join. --Pope.

8. Intensity; -- said of light or color.

Bright Ph[oe]bus in his strength. --Shak.

9. Intensity or degree of the distinguishing and essential
element; spirit; virtue; excellence; -- said of liquors,
solutions, etc.; as, the strength of wine or of acids.

10. A strong place; a stronghold. [Obs.] --Shak.

{On}, or {Upon}, {the strength of}, in reliance upon. ``The
allies, after a successful summer, are too apt, upon the
strength of it, to neglect their preparations for the
ensuing campaign.'' --Addison.

Syn: Force; robustness; toughness; hardness; stoutness;
brawniness; lustiness; firmness; puissance; support;
spirit; validity; authority. See {Force}.

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

strength
n 1: the property of being physically or mentally strong;
"fatigue sapped his strength" [ant: {weakness}]
2: capability in terms of personnel and materiel that affect
the capacity to fight a war; "we faced an army of great
strength"; "politicians have neglected our military
posture" [syn: {military capability}, {military strength},
{military posture}, {posture}]
3: physical energy or intensity: "he hit with all the force he
could muster"; "it was destroyed by the strength of the
gale"; "a government has not the vitality and forcefulness
of a living man" [syn: {force}, {forcefulness}]
4: an asset of special worth or utility; "cooking is his forte"
[syn: {forte}, {strong suit}, {long suit}, {metier}, {specialty},
{speciality}, {strong point}] [ant: {weak point}]
5: the power to induce the taking of a course of action or the
embracing of a point of view by means of argument or
entreaty; "the strength of his argument settled the
matter" [syn: {persuasiveness}] [ant: {unpersuasiveness}]
6: the amount of energy transmitted (as by acoustic or
electromagnetic radiation); "he adjusted the intensity of
the sound"; "they measured the station's signal strength"
[syn: {intensity}, {intensity level}]
7: capacity to produce strong physiological or chemical
effects: "the toxin's potency"; "the strength of the
drinks" [syn: {potency}, {effectiveness}]
8: the condition of financial success; "the strength of the
company's stock in recent weeks" [ant: {weakness}]
9: permanence by virtue of the power to resist stress or force;
"they advertised the durability of their products" [syn: {lastingness},
{durability}, {enduringness}]


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