Citadel Meaning
/ˈsɪtədəl/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA strong fortress that sits high above a city.
nounA stronghold or fortified place.
Sentence Examples
What is out of the lips, is out of the citadel.
Again to Priam's palace, and again / up to the citadel I speed my way.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Soldiers defended the ancient ____ high on the rocky hill.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ancient ____ stood high on a hill overlooking the whole city.
Word Origin & History
From French citadelle, from Italian cittadella, diminutive of città (“city”), from Latin cīvitās.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"In the city’s midst the gleaming marble of a thousand steps climbed to the citadel where arose four pinnacles beckoning to heaven, and midmost between the pinnacles there stood the dome, vast, as the gods had dreamed it."
— 1906, Lord Dunsany [i.e., Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany], Time and the Gods, London: William Heineman, →OCLC, page 1:
"Intrenched within the citadel of our apartment, and cheered by the comfortings of a coal fire, we passed the day in letter-writing, conversation, or gazing from the sheltered security of our windows upon the agitated sea[…]"
— 1836, Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, The American in England, page 269:
"Twenty-two of these — eleven per broadside — were on the main deck within a central citadel, essentially an armor-protected box in the middle of the ship. Also within the citadel were four 110-pdr. breech-loaders."
— 2000, Lincoln P. Paine, Warships of the World to 1900:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Soldiers defended the ancient ____ high on the rocky hill.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ancient ____ stood high on a hill overlooking the whole city.