fortitude
- 01 C1 Advanced
the mental strength that helps you deal with pain or difficult situations without complaining.
mental and emotional resilience that allows one to encounter danger or bear pain or adversity with courage.
Simple“She showed great fortitude throughout her long illness, never losing her positive spirit.”
In context“The refugees demonstrated remarkable moral fortitude as they navigated the bureaucratic hurdles of the resettlement process while grieving their lost homes.”
UsageUsually uncountable when referring to the abstract quality of character.
- 02 C2 Proficiency
an old-fashioned way to describe having a strong, powerful body.
physical strength or power. This sense is largely obsolete in modern prose, having been supplanted by the psychological sense.
Simple“The old stories praised the knight for his physical fortitude in battle.”
In context“In the archaic text, the hero was described as possessing the fortitude of a giant, capable of lifting stones that three men could not budge.”
Teacher's tipModern speakers almost exclusively use fortitude to mean mental strength; using it for physical muscle will sound very old-fashioned.
From Middle English fortitude, from Old French, from Latin fortitūdō (“bravery, strength”), from fortis (“brave, strong”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.