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View synonyms for bulwark

bulwark

[ bool-werk, -wawrk, buhl- ]

noun

  1. a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart.
  2. any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance:

    The new dam was a bulwark against future floods.

  3. any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement in time of need, danger, or doubt:

    Religion was his bulwark.

    Synonyms: mainstay, buttress, support

  4. Usually bulwarks. Nautical. a solid wall enclosing the perimeter of a weather or main deck for the protection of persons or objects on deck.


verb (used with object)

  1. to fortify or protect with a bulwark; secure by or as if by a fortification.

bulwark

/ ˈbʊlwək /

noun

  1. a wall or similar structure used as a fortification; rampart
  2. a person or thing acting as a defence against injury, annoyance, etc
  3. often plural nautical a solid vertical fencelike structure along the outward sides of a deck
  4. a breakwater or mole
“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


verb

  1. tr to defend or fortify with or as if with a bulwark
“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bulwark1

1375–1425; late Middle English bulwerk, probably < Middle Dutch bolwerc, equivalent to bol ( l ) e bole 1 + werk work (noun); boulevard
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bulwark1

C15: via Dutch from Middle High German bolwerk , from bol plank, bole 1+ werk work
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Example Sentences

In some communities, where many residents have pushed back on scientifically-proven measures like mask-wearing, local reporters have been one of the only bulwarks for the truth.

From Time

If just one of the Republicans win, the GOP will have a bulwark to Democratic control.

To do that, they need to win in states like Iowa and Montana and Georgia and South Carolina, which could be the bulwark if Democrats knock off Republicans in Arizona and Colorado and North Carolina and Maine.

So it’s logical to worry that by creating a huge distortion in the credit markets, the Fed could trigger a backlash from another bulwark of the economy that’s damaged by artificially low rates.

From Fortune

To Corey, at the Fred Hutchinson, the involvement of large multinationals like AstraZeneca and Merck is likely to act as a bulwark against the politicization of vaccine research and supplies.

The German Panzers fought with suicidal ferocity, storming the hill until it was rimmed with a bulwark of bodies.

And if they do, that will serve as a further bulwark against a return to bloc-to-bloc dynamics.

First, however weak the court may be as a bulwark against majoritarian tyranny, it is better than no bulwark at all.

What we most wanted in a policy was a bulwark against financial devastation from a catastrophic illness.

When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.

Our camp was enclosed with a solid wall of the dead—a bulwark, a breastwork, of corpses, you may say.

John Ward seized Patricia from behind, holding her by her arms as a bulwark against our lead.

Right at the crown of the battlement stood a figure in armor, and behind the bulwark was the noise of struggle.

Before I could say a word, or move forward to seize him, he sprang on the bulwark and deliberately threw himself into the sea.

The lower part of the river—the Fleet—was tidal, and formed the western bulwark of London for centuries.

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