Fortitude Meaning
/ˈfɔːtɪtjuːd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounMental or emotional strength that enables courage in the face of adversity.
nounPhysical strength.
Sentence Examples
I admire your fortitude.
You can't even imagine how much fortitude it requires.
CEFR Practice Quiz
She showed great ____ by continuing to work despite her illness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She showed great ____ during her long recovery from the accident, never losing her positive spirit.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English fortitude, from Old French, from Latin fortitūdō (“bravery, strength”), from fortis (“brave, strong”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"I am able now (me thinkes) / (Out of a Fortitude of Soule, I feele) / To endure more Miſeries, […]"
— 1613 (date written), William Shakespeare, [John Fletcher], “The Famous History of the Life of King Henry the Eight”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 223, column 1:
"I shall soon have need for all my fortitude, as I am on the point of separation from my own daughter."
— c. 1794, Jane Austen, “[Lady Susan.] I. Lady Susan Vernon to Mr. Vernon.”, in J[ames] E[dward] Austen[-]Leigh, A Memoir of Jane Austen: […] to which is Added Lady Susan and Fragments of Two Other Unfinished Tales by Miss Austen, 2nd edition, London: Richard Bentley and Son, […], published 1871, →OCLC, pages 203–204:
"She [the ship] may be saved by your efforts, by your resource and fortitude bearing up against the heavy weight of guilt and failure."
— 1904–1906, Joseph Conrad, “The Grip of the Land”, in The Mirror of the Sea, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, published October 1906, →OCLC, page 123:
"Mitt Romney […] charges that [Barack] Obama is an appeaser who apologizes for America, lacks fortitude and is "tentative, indecisive, timid and nuanced.""
— 2012 January 30, Fareed Zakaria, “The Strategist”, in Time, archived from the original on 26 Jul 2012:
"The proper fans might also expend time—about twenty hours—trying to visit every Tube station as quickly as possible. […] But to visit every station in record time—which people have been attempting since at least 1960—requires real fortitude. You must get up before dawn, you must drink or eat almost nothing, so niggardly is the Underground with toilet provision."
— 2012, Andrew Martin, Underground Overground: A Passenger’s History of the Tube, Profile Books, →ISBN, page 267:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
She showed great ____ by continuing to work despite her illness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She showed great ____ during her long recovery from the accident, never losing her positive spirit.