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robust

[roh-buhst, roh-buhst]
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adjective
  1. strong and healthy; hardy; vigorous: a robust young man; a robust faith; a robust mind.
  2. strongly or stoutly built: his robust frame.
  3. suited to or requiring bodily strength or endurance: robust exercise.
  4. rough, rude, or boisterous: robust drinkers and dancers.
  5. rich and full-bodied: the robust flavor of freshly brewed coffee.
  6. strong and effective in all or most situations and conditions: The system requires robust passwords that contain at least one number or symbol. Our goal is to devise robust statistical methods.

Origin of robust

1540–50; < Latin rōbustus oaken, hard, strong, equivalent to rōbus-, stem of rōbur oak, strength + -tus adj. suffix
Related formsro·bust·ly, adverbro·bust·ness, nounun·ro·bust, adjectiveun·ro·bust·ly, adverbun·ro·bust·ness, noun

Synonyms

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1. powerful, sound. 4. coarse, rambunctious.

Antonyms

1. feeble. 2. weak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for robustness

Historical Examples

  • Her face had lost its robustness of scorn, and expressed only a cheerful determination.

    Meadow Grass

    Alice Brown

  • Thus the robustness of the parents is inherited by the children.

  • There is that robustness, for instance, so often the sign of good moral balance.

    Some Reminiscences

    Joseph Conrad

  • The nearer proximity of water we consider a detriment to the robustness of a community.

    Desert Dust

    Edwin L. Sabin

  • An air of robustness and strength is very prejudicial to beauty.

British Dictionary definitions for robustness

robustness

noun
  1. the quality of being robust
  2. computing the ability of a computer system to cope with errors during execution

robust

adjective
  1. strong in constitution; hardy; vigorous
  2. sturdily builta robust shelter
  3. requiring or suited to physical strengtha robust sport
  4. (esp of wines) having a rich full-bodied flavour
  5. rough or boisterous
  6. (of thought, intellect, etc) straightforward and imbued with common sense
Derived Formsrobustly, adverb

Word Origin

C16: from Latin rōbustus, from rōbur an oak, strength
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for robustness

robust

adj.

1540s, from Middle French robuste (14c.) and directly from Latin robustus "strong and hardy," literally "as strong as oak," originally "oaken," from robur, robus "hard timber, strength," also "a special kind of oak," named for its reddish heartwood, from Latin ruber "red" (cf. robigo "rust"), from PIE *reudh- (see red (adj.1)). Related: Robustly; robustness. Robustious (1540s) was a common form in 17c. (cf. "Hamlet" iii.2); it fell from use by mid-18c., but was somewhat revived by mid-19c. antiquarian writers.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper