fastness

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“
She was a robber baroness; she dwelt in a rocky "fastness"--whatever that was--surrounded by a crew of outlaws as desperate as any that ever drew cutlass and dagger, and she ruled them not only by native strength of character, but also by the aid of other forces, for she was on friendly terms with the more prominent wood sprites, fairies, and the like, and they brought her wisdom.

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Definitions (16)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (6)

  1. noun The condition or quality of being fast, especially:
  2. noun Firmness; security.
  3. noun Rapidity; swiftness.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (6)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (1)

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Examples (50)

  • They attacked a triumphant age of reason in its central fastness, the brilliant analytic intelligence to which its triumphs were apparently due. —  Robert Browning
  • But you want to know about the power and the fastness, don't you? —  BBC TopGear: Cars and Autos News
  • The first stage in structure or conniving your own ranking house or fastness is to familiarize manually with all your options. —  Find Free Articles - ArticlesBase
  • While a ranking is a central part of a hierarchy house or hierarchy fastness, it is not necessarily essential. —  Find Free Articles - ArticlesBase
  • With Kornit's superior textile digital water-based ink formulated for low-temperature curing while maintaining extremely high durability and wash fastness, and with its proprietary pre-treatment wetting solution creating a sealed printing surface that prevents the garment's dye from binding with the ink film, Kornit is able to produce extraordinary full 4 color process prints on dark polyester applications, without altering its chemistry in any way. —  Free Apparel News – Apparel RSS XML Feeds – Fibre2fashion.com
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Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

solitudes ·  stronghold ·  mountain-top ·  citadel ·  highlands ·  donjon ·  pagoda ·  glen ·  watch-tower ·  muniment ·  mountainside ·  nook
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (2)

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (2)

  1. from Middle English fastnesse, festnesse, firmness, certainty, a stronghold, the firmament, from Anglo-Saxon fæstnes, fæstnis, firmness, a stronghold, the firmament, from fæst, firm, fast, fixed, + -nes, -ness. Cf. Anglo-Saxon fæsten, a stronghold, fastness, an inclosed place, from fæst + -en. Cf. Dutch vest, a wall, rampart, fortress, = Old High German festi, firmness, a fortress, = German feste, a fortress, = Swedish fäste, a castle, the firmament, = Danish fæste, a fastening; Swedish fästning = Danish fæstning, a fortress.
  2. from fast + -ness.
 

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/ˈfæstnɛs/
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