bastion

[bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn]

noun

1. Fortification.,  a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.

2. a fortified place.

   Synonyms: citadel, stronghold, bulwark, fort, fortress

3. anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc..

   a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.

bastion

/ ˈbæstɪən /

noun

1. a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall

2. any fortified place

3. a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc

   the last bastion of opposition

Other Word Forms

• bastionary adjective
• bastioned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastion¹

1590–1600; < Middle French < Italian bastione, equivalent to Upper Italian bastí ( a ) bastion, originally, fortified, built (cognate with Italian bastita, past participle of bastire to build < Germanic; baste ¹ ) + -one augmentative suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastion¹

C16: from French, from earlier bastillon bastion, from bastille _Bastille

Example Sentences

The densely populated district -- a strategic target for political parties -- was once a bastion of ex-president Laurent Gbagbo's but fell to the current ruling party 14 years ago.

Read more on Barron's

"In this context, the army was perceived as the last bastion against violence -- the institution capable of stopping repression and restoring order," she said.

Read more on Barron's

America remains the bastion of freedom and, equally important, the arsenal of democracy.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Within righteous anger flooding the comments on these artists’ social media pages are more than a few folks who point out that the United States is no bastion of justice and ethics these days, either.

Read more on Salon

Perales has got his uniform and boots at hand, ready to defend his "bastion" – the Caracas neighbourhood where he lives.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bulwark 
• citadel 
• fortress 
• mainstay 
• stronghold