stalwart

¹

[stawl-wert]

adjective

1. strongly and stoutly built; sturdy and robust.

2. strong and brave; valiant.

   a stalwart knight.

3. firm, steadfast, or uncompromising.

   a stalwart supporter of the U.N.

noun

1. a physically stalwart person.

2. a steadfast or uncompromising partisan.

   They counted on the party stalwarts for support in the off-year campaigns.

Stalwart

²

[stawl-wert]

noun

1. a conservative Republican in the 1870s and 1880s, especially one opposed to civil service and other reforms during the administrations of presidents Rutherford B. Hayes and James A. Garfield.

stalwart

/ ˈstɔːlwət /

adjective

1. strong and sturdy; robust

2. solid, dependable, and courageous

   stalwart citizens

3. resolute and firm

noun

1. a stalwart person, esp a supporter

Other Word Forms

• stalwartly adverb
• stalwartness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of stalwart¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English (Scots), variant of stalward, earlier stalwurthe; stalworth

Word History and Origins

Origin of stalwart¹

Old English stǣlwirthe serviceable, from stǣl , shortened from stathol support + wierthe _worth ¹

Example Sentences

Team Europe’s stalwarts, unfazed by the hostile crowd, got unimaginably hot.

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Vrabel, who previously coached the Titans, was a Patriots stalwart who won three Super Bowls with the team as a linebacker.

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The most stalwart of the cops is Lucas, played by Kerrie Hayes.

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Anthropic is working with International Business Machines to make its artificial-intelligence models available inside IBM’s software, the two companies said Tuesday, in an attempt at uniting the AI startup with an IT stalwart.

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Jonathan Chait, the stalwart liberal, described in New York magazine the private sadness of “many” peers over failures of truthfulness and courage.

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Related Words

• dependable 
• fearless 
• indomitable 
• intrepid 
• redoubtable 
• staunch 
• stout 
• tenacious 
• vigorous