ironclad
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
Covered with iron, steel, or any other tough metal.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
eyeernkladSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈaɪɚnklæd
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
military
A wooden warship of the 19th century that is plated with iron or steel armor
“The museum displayed a model of an ironclad with thick armor over its wooden hull.”
military
An armor-plated warship, (especially) one preceding the invention of harveyized steel.
A ship, vessel, or vehicle with a covering of iron, steel, or (loosely) any other tough metal.
A wooden warehouse with an outer skin of corrugated metal.
adjective
Covered with iron, steel, or (loosely) any other tough metal; armor-plated.
figuratively
Solid or certain; not able to be disputed or questioned; irrefutable.
figuratively
Rigorous; severe; exacting.
figuratively
Stubborn; inflexible.
Word at a Glance
- Frequency
- Rare
- Formality
- Technical
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A wooden warship of the 19th century that is plated with iron or steel armor
Used this way, ironclad is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a military use: it belongs to service and operational language.
“The museum displayed a model of an ironclad with thick armor over its wooden hull.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Military
- Historical writing
- News/reporting
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Natural pattern: ironclad with …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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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.