Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Courage and fortitude; spirit: troops who showed their mettle in combat.
- n. Inherent quality of character and temperament.
- idiom. on (one's) mettle Prepared to accept a challenge and do one's best.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. Same as metal.
- n. Physical or moral constitution; material.
- n. Natural tempera me ut; specifically, a masculine and ardent temperament; spirit; courage; ardor; enthusiasm.
Wiktionary
- n. A quality of endurance and courage.
- n. Good temperament and character.
- n. obsolete Metal; a metallic substance.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. Substance or quality of temperament; spirit, esp. as regards honor, courage, fortitude, ardor, etc.; disposition; -- usually in a good sense.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the courage to carry on
Etymologies
- Originally a variant of metal. (Wiktionary)
- Variant of metal. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“I. i.96 (151,8) Of unimproved mettle hot and full] _Full of unimproved mettle_, is full of spirit not regulated or guided by knowledge or experience.”
“However, a much greater test of their title mettle awaits Stephen Kearney's men when they face favourites Australia in Melbourne next Saturday, while PNG must now pick themselves up for their clash with England in Auckland on the same day.”
“Arsene Wenger's delight as Arsenal show their title mettle in hard-fought Goodison Park win”
Telegraph.co.uk - Telegraph online, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph
“The real test of your mettle is when you come up against a major setback and you refuse to let it stop you, when you find another way to achieve what you need to do.”
“But the true test of a person's mettle is what can they do when they don't have money to control their lives.”
“` ` To me, where your mettle is tested a little bit is when you get hit in the teeth.”
“New Jersey's mettle is being severely tested in the franchise's first appearance in the conference final.”
“High mettle is the praise of a horse rather than of a man, whom fierceness and rage ill become.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
“Ancelotti asks Arsenal to show their Premier League title mettle LONDON - Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti has told arch rivals Arsenal that its time to show their mettle for the Premier League title.”
Gaea Times (by Simple Thoughts) Breaking News and incisive views 24/7
“Carlo Ancelotti asks Arsenal to show their Premier League title mettle Air Alex Ferguson says City can't handle pressure, Man U used to playing big games Rafa Benitez credits Alberto Aquilani for Liverpool's Premier League win over Tottenham The Hosur Road Elevated Expressway could spell a major lifestyle change for those commuting to electronic city and beyond.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘mettle’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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hunting
crudely, unequivocal, obsolete, obscure, overtly, misdeed, shack, inherent, outcry, hefty, composed, poised and 319 more...
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GRE Barron's 800
abate, abdicate, aberrant, abeyance, abject, abjure, abscission, abscond, abstemious, abstinence, abysmal, accretion and 787 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 297 more...
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Tristram Shandy
souse, meet, sententious, propound, boot, casuistry, avoirdupois, akimbo, disport, lenity, succussation, sweetbread and 197 more...
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Words build meanings from origins( et...
These come from gamma meditation ,I think.
discursive, exogenous, machinations, purportedly, sumptuous, congruity, cantankerous, incongruous, festoon, hessian, ratiocinative, stratigraphic and 2057 more...
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CCle
all those wonderful Britsy words that end with a double consonant followed by 'le'
doddle, bobble, dibble, whiffle, waffle, diddle, piddle, jiggle, straggle, boggle, fiddle, skeedaddle and 125 more...
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kickassery
words that kick ass, in the non-literal sense
keraunophilia, vituperative, archnemesis, megafauna, Brontotherium, haruspex, vainglory, immanent, tarasque, aurochs, fraktur, photophore and 88 more...
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WOOZ
Words contained in the screenplay of Wizard of Oz, 1939 film.
Comments show the actual "line" from the film.
The words are tagged for grade-levelpusillanimous, genuflect, cataclysmic, vernacular, peasantry, aver, caliginous, tedious, advent, careworn, bovine, commodity and 34 more...
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Favorites
disparage, partisan, cupidity, hokum, tussle, odious, dastardly, overture, plane, chronic, peering, peer and 328 more...
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MiaLuthien's list ♥
gambit, prehensile, coquetry, impunity, genuflect, ensconce, clavicle, delude, beget, castigate, life caching, convoluted and 478 more...
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(more or less) Temporary Urth List
Temporary list is temporary.
Collecting a few words here, which are then to be alloted to other lists.vassal, gnaw, putrescence, liege, pederasty, disseminate, loot, waning, fitful, hiatuse, plow, pious and 292 more...
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Words to write with
sarcous, irridescent, pith, purfle, tarradiddle, parlay, nuance, translucent, mettle, sape
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kingofbash's Words
bash, poleaxed, salacious, libertine, charlatan, aplomb, fortuitous, finagle, apoplectic, debutante, carte blanche, aardvark and 472 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (M)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
mace, macintosh, madras, magenta, magic 8 ball, magma, mahogany, maiden, mail, mainsail, maize, malachite and 169 more...
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BonMots
assiduous, progeny, hegemony, nascent, reticent, ephemera, zeitgeist, recalcitrant, copious, corporeal, cacaphonous, obstreperous and 108 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for mettle.
dbekeny TIN MAN
(sings)
When a man's an empty kettle,
He should be on his mettle.
And yet I'm torn apart.
Just because I'm presumin'
That I could be kind-a human,
If I only had a heart.
Jun 10, 2010