strɔŋ adj. & adv. --adj. (stronger; strongest) 1 having
the power of
resistance;
able to
withstand great force or
opposition;
not easily damaged or
overcome (strong
material; strong
faith; a strong character). 2 (of a person's constitution) able to overcome, or not
liable to,
disease. 3 (of a person's nerves)
proof against fright, irritation, etc. 4 (of a patient) restored to
health. 5 (of a market) having steadily
high or
rising prices. 6
capable of exerting great force or of
doing much;
muscular,
powerful. 7
forceful or powerful in
effect (a strong wind; a strong protest). 8
decided or firmly
held (a strong
suspicion; strong views). 9 (of an
argument etc.)
convincing or
striking. 10 powerfully affecting the senses or emotions (a strong
light; strong acting). 11 powerful in terms of size or numbers or
quality (a strong army). 12 capable of doing much
when united (a strong combination). 13
formidable;
likely to
succeed (a strong candidate). 14 (of a
solution or
drink etc.) containing a
large proportion of a
substance in
water or
another solvent (strong tea). 15 Chem. (of an
acid or base)
fully ionized
into cations
and anions in
aqueous solution. 16 (of a group) having a specified
number (200 strong). 17 (of a voice)
loud or penetrating. 18 (of
food or
its flavour)
pungent. 19 (of a person's breath) ill-smelling. 20 (of a
literary style)
vivid and
terse. 21 (of a measure)
drastic. 22 Gram. in
Germanic languages: a (of a verb) forming inflections by
change of
vowel within the stem
rather than by the
addition of a
suffix (e.g.
swim, swam). b (of a
noun or adjective) belonging to a
declension in
which the stem originally ended
otherwise than in -n (opp.
WEAK 9). --adv. strongly (the
tide is
running strong). øcome it strong colloq. go to great lengths;
use exaggeration.
going strong colloq. continuing
action vigorously; in
good health or
trim. strong-arm using force (strong-arm tactics). strong drink see DRINK. strong
grade the stressed ablaut-form. strong
interaction Physics interaction
between certain elementary particles
that is
very strong but is
effective only at
short distances. strong
language forceful language; swearing. strong
meat a
doctrine or action
acceptable only to
vigorous or instructed minds. strong-minded having
determination. strong-mindedness determination. strong
point 1 a
thing at which
one excels. 2 a specially fortified
defensive position. strong
stomach a stomach not easily
affected by
nausea. strong
suit 1 a suit at cards in which one can
take tricks. 2 a thing at which one excels. øøstrongish adj. strongly adv. [OE f. Gmc:
cf. STRING]