Meaning & use
strong
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Meanings
adjectivecomparable
Having great bodily power or able to lift, carry or resist force easily.
Grammar: Describes people, animals and things: a strong man, a strong rope.
Patterns
- strong enough to do something
He is strong enough to lift the sofa by himself.
The old oak table is surprisingly strong.
A strong wind pushed us along the beach.
adjectivecomparable
Having an intense taste, smell, color or effect.
Grammar: Used for tastes, smells and drinks: strong coffee, a strong smell.
I prefer strong coffee in the morning.
There was a strong smell of garlic in the kitchen.
The medicine is strong, so take only one pill.
adjectivebefore a noun
Firmly felt, held or expressed, with a lot of conviction.
Grammar: Often before nouns such as opinion, belief or feeling.
Patterns
- strong feelings about something
She has strong opinions about education.
They share a strong belief in fairness.
He felt a strong desire to go home.
adjectivecomparableapproving
Good at dealing with difficulty and able to stay calm, brave or healthy.
Grammar: Describes character or health: be strong, a strong constitution.
Patterns
- strong in something
She stayed strong through her illness.
He is mentally strong under pressure.
A strong economy can handle a few bad years.
adjectiveafter a verb
Having a particular number of members; used after a number.
Grammar: Used after the number: a crowd of two thousand strong.
Patterns
- number strong
The crowd was ten thousand strong.
Their army is fifty thousand strong.
A group of forty strong marched to the capital.
Word forms
| comparative | stronger |
|---|---|
| superlative | strongest |
Common combinations
- strong wind
- A strong wind knocked over the umbrella.
- strong coffee
- He drinks strong coffee after lunch.
- strong opinion
- She has a strong opinion on the issue.
- strong evidence
- There is strong evidence for the theory.
- strong sense of
- He has a strong sense of humor.
- going strong
- The shop is still going strong after fifty years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- powerful
- Powerful stresses ability to produce great effect or control, often beyond physical strength.
- sturdy
- Sturdy describes a solid, well-built thing or person, not necessarily great power.
- intense
- Intense fits feelings, flavors and light, but not people lifting weights.
- robust
- Robust suggests healthy and able to withstand stress, and it is more formal.
Opposites
Word family
- strength noun
- the quality of being strong
- strengthen verb
- to make or become stronger
- strongly adverb
- in a firm or intense way
- stronghold noun
- a place that is well defended
Commonly confused: strong or stronger?
strong vs stronger
Stronger is the comparative of strong and needs than for comparison; strong alone does not compare.
Practice
She has a ____ opinion about school uniforms and is willing to argue about them for hours.
Choose one answer.
An adjective is needed before the noun opinion, so strong is correct. Strongly is an adverb, strength a noun and strengthen a verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “strong”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.