Bulwark Meaning
/ˈbʊl.wək/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA defensive wall or rampart.
nounA defense or safeguard.
Sentence Examples
Islam is a bulwark against gender ideology.
You are our bulwark against anihilation.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ancient stone ____ protected the city from enemy invasions.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The stone wall served as a ____ against the rising water of the river.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English bulwerk, from Middle Dutch bolwerk, bolwerc and Middle Low German bolwerk, equivalent to bole (“tree trunk”) + work. Cognate with German Bollwerk, Danish bolværk, Swedish bålverk, Dutch bolwerk. Doublet of boulevard (from French boulevard, from Dutch); cognate with Portuguese and Spanish baluarte and Italian baluardo.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Let thouſands die, their ſlaughtered Carkaſſes
Shal ſerue for walles and bulwarkes to the reſt:"
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
"The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence, […] the floating bulwark of the island."
— 1765–1769, William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England, (please specify |book=I to IV), Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] Clarendon Press, →OCLC:
"Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft."
— 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, chapter 3, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 11:
"Willing to upend the nation’s postwar role as a bulwark against authoritarianism, he promises to usher in a foreign policy rooted in “America First” transactionalism."
— 2024 December 12, Eric Cortellessa, “Donald Trump 2024 TIME Person of the Year”, in Time, archived from the original on 22 Dec 2024:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The ancient stone ____ protected the city from enemy invasions.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The stone wall served as a ____ against the rising water of the river.