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mettle

noun

Simple meaning

The courage to carry on.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

mehtuhl

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈmɛtəl

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.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. The courage to carry on

  2. A quality of courage and endurance.

  3. Good temperament and character.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
C2 · Proficient (estimated)
Frequency
Rare

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The courage to carry on

Used this way, mettle is a reasonably familiar word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It carries warmth, so it reads as personal rather than detached.

Emotional tone
Positive
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Gentle
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Brave and principled
Usage feel
Warm and expressive

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

true mettledifferent mettlehigh mettle

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • spunk

    Courage; spirit; mettle; determination.

  • heart

    The seat of the affections or sensibilities, collectively or separately, as love, hate, joy, grief, courage, etc.

  • nerve

    Courage; boldness; audacity; gall.

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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.