fortify
/ˈfɔɹtəˌfaɪ/
Frequency: 2.90 in modern English
Meaning
verb
To give power, strength, or vigour to (oneself or someone, or to something); to strengthen.
Transitive verb
verb
To support (one's or someone's opinion, statement, etc.) by producing evidence, etc.; to confirm, to corroborate.
Transitive verb
verb
To increase the nutritional value of (food) by adding ingredients, especially minerals or vitamins.
Transitive verb
verb
To impart fortitude or moral strength to (someone or their determination, or something); to encourage.
Transitive verb
verb
To increase the defences of (an army, soldiers, etc.), or put (it or them) in a defensive position.
Transitive verb
verb
To secure and strengthen (a place, its walls, etc.) by installing fortifications or other military works.
Transitive verb
Example Sentences
- "[I]t [“oleum de costo”] fortifyeth yͤ ſtomack and Lyuer, it keepeth the hayre from fallyng of, & the head from horeneſſe [hoaryness], it cauſeth good colour, and ſauour in all the body."
- "[…] I preſum'd it vvill not be unvvelcome to Your Lordſhip, if I here fortifie the Speculations that have been or may be propos'd to explicate theſe things according to the Hypotheſis of the vveight of the Air, by vvhat vve tried to that purpoſe, among others, vvhen vve vvere making uſe of a Syringe in our Engine."
- "[T]hey admitted three thouſand into a ſhare of the Government; and thus fortified, became the cruelleſt Tyranny upon Record."
- "Nor must we here omit that great variety of arms with which Nature has differently fortified the bodies of several kinds of animals; such as claws, hoofs, horns, teeth, and tusks, a tail, a sting, a trunk, or a proboscis."
- "In the day I called, Thou [God] answeredst me; / Thou fortifiedst me with strength in my soul."
- "Thou [poverty] fortifiest the body, thou strengthenest the soul; and thanks to thee, this life to which the rich cling to as a rock, becomes as a skiff whose anchor death can part without awakening our despair."
Etymology
Origin
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfɔɹtəˌfaɪ/
- British English: /ˈfɔːtɪfaɪ/