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ironclad

[adjective ahy-ern-klad; noun ahy-ern-klad]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ironclad ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

covered or cased with iron plates, as a ship for naval warfare; armor-plated.
very rigid or exacting; inflexible; unbreakable: an ironclad contract.

noun

a wooden warship of the middle or late 19th century having iron or steel armor plating.

RELATED WORDS

abiding, unwavering, definite, inflexible, firm, certain, changeless, confirmed, enduring, planned, settled, stated, stubborn, sure, unalterable, uncompromising, determinate, agreed, prearranged

Nearby words

  1. iron-pumper,
  2. iron-sick,
  3. iron-storage disease,
  4. ironbark,
  5. ironbound,
  6. irondequoit,
  7. irone,
  8. ironer,
  9. ironfisted,
  10. ironhanded

Origin of ironclad

First recorded in 1850–55; iron + clad1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ironclad

British Dictionary definitions for ironclad

ironclad

adjective (ˌaɪənˈklæd)

covered or protected with ironan ironclad warship
inflexible; rigidan ironclad rule
not able to be assailed or contradictedan ironclad argument

noun (ˈaɪənˌklæd)

a large wooden 19th-century warship with armoured plating
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 ironclad

ironclad

adj.

1852, of warships, American English, from iron (n.) + clad. Of contracts, etc., 1884. As a noun meaning "iron-clad ship," it is attested from 1862.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper