fortification
noun
Simple meaning
The act of fortifying.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
fawrtuhfuhkayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
fɔɹtəfəˈkeɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The act of fortifying; the art or science of fortifying places to strengthen defence against an enemy.
That which fortifies; especially, a work or works erected to defend a place against attack; a fortified place; a fortress; a fort; a castle.
An increase in effectiveness, as by adding ingredients.
A jagged pattern sometimes seen during an attack of migraine.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The act of fortifying; the art or science of fortifying places to strengthen defence against an enemy.
Used this way, fortification is a reasonably familiar word with a faintly unfavourable edge. It turns up most in science contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Critical or judgemental
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Where it naturally appears
- Science
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.