different between forcible vs strong

English

Etymology

From Middle English forcible, forsable, from Old French forcible, from forcier (“to conquer by force”).

Adjective

forcible (comparative more forcible, superlative most forcible)

1. Done by force, forced.
   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II, lines 790-96, [1]

     I fled; but he pursued (though more, it seems, / Inflamed with lust than rage), and, swifter far, / Me overtook, his mother, all dismayed, / And, in embraces forcible and foul / Engendering with me, of that rape begot / These yelling monsters, that with ceaseless cry / Surround me, as thou saw'st—

   • 1923, "Jim Crow Tendency," Time, 9 March, 1923, [3]

     Since the forcible ejection of pugilist Siki from the New York Bar in Paris, discussion of Negro rights has become serious.

   • 2008, U.S. Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States

     Forcible rape, as defined in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Attempts or assaults to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included; however, statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses are excluded.

2. (rare or obsolete) Having (physical) force, forceful.
3. Having a powerful effect; forceful, telling, strong, convincing, effective.
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, Book III, London: George Routledge & Sons, 1888, p. 207, [5]

     But that which hath been once most sufficient, may wax otherwise by alteration of time and place; that punishment which hath been sometimes forcible to bridle sin, may grow afterwards too weak and feebled.

   • c. 1598, William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, Act V, Scene 2, [6]

     Thou hast frighted the word out of his right sense, so forcible is thy wit.

   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Job 6:25 [7]

     How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?

   • 1859, Francis Bacon, Historia Densi et Rari (1623), translated by James Spedding and Robert Leslie Ellis, in The Philosophical Works of Francis Bacon, edited by James Spedding, London: Longman & Co., 1861, Vol. II, section 388, p. 470,

     Sweet smells are most forcible in dry substances, when broken; and so likewise in oranges or lemons, the nipping off their rind giveth out their smell more […]

   • 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian, Collins, 1998, Chapter 7,

     They all jumped up, shaking the water out of their ears and wringing their little blankets, and asked the Giant in shrill but forcible voices whether he thought they weren’t wet enough without this sort of thing.

4. Able to be forced.
   • 1831, Richard Burn, Joseph Chitty, Thomas Chitty, The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer (volume 1, page 793)

     […] it seems that an entry is not forcible by the bare drawing up a latch, or pulling back the bolt of a door, there being no appearance therein of its being done by strong hand, or multitude of people; […]

   • 1835, Sir Thomas Edlyne Tomlins, Thomas Colpitts Granger, The Law-dictionary

     But an entry may be forcible, not only in respect of a violence actually done to the person of a man, but also in respect of any other kind of violence in the manner of the entry, as by breaking open the doors of a house […]

Derived terms

• forcible-feeble
• forcibly

Translations

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “forcible”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

English

Alternative forms

• strang (dialectal)

Etymology

From Middle English strong, strang, from Old English strong, strang (“strong, powerful, mighty, able; firm, constant, resolute, strenuous, hardy; hard, severe, fierce, stern, strict; bold, brave; valid, assured; effective, producing a great effect, potent; earnest; arduous, violent”), from Proto-Germanic *strangaz (“tight, strict, straight, strong”), from Proto-Indo-European *streng?- (“taut, stiff, tight”). Cognate with Scots strang (“strong”), Saterland Frisian strang, West Frisian string (“austere, strict, harsh, severe, stern, stark, tough”), Dutch streng (“strict, severe, tight”), German streng (“strict, severe, austere”), Swedish sträng, strang (“severe, strict, harsh”), Norwegian strang (“strong, harsh, bitter”), Norwegian streng (“strong, hard”), Icelandic strangur (“strict”), Latin string? (“tighten”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: str?ng, IPA^(key): /st???/, [st??????], [?t??????]
• (US) enPR: strông, IPA^(key): /st???/, [st??????], [?t??????]
• (Canada, cot–caught merger) enPR: str?ng, IPA^(key): /st???/, [st??????], [?t??????]
• Rhymes: -??

Adjective

strong (comparative stronger, superlative strongest)

1. Capable of producing great physical force.

2. Capable of withstanding great physical force.

3. (of water, wind, etc.) Having a lot of power.

4. Determined; unyielding.
   • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, The Mirror and the Lamp, chapter 10:

     It was a joy to snatch some brief respite, and find himself in the rectory drawing–room. Listening here was as pleasant as talking; just to watch was pleasant. The young priests who lived here wore cassocks and birettas; their faces were fine and mild, yet really strong, like the rector's face; and in their intercourse with him and his wife they seemed to be brothers.

5. Highly stimulating to the senses.

6. Having an offensive or intense odor or flavor.

8. Having a high concentration of an essential or active ingredient.

10. (specifically) Having a high alcoholic content.

    She gets up, and pours herself a strong one. - Eagles, Lying Eyes

11. (grammar) Inflecting in a different manner than the one called weak, such as Germanic verbs which change vowels.

12. (chemistry) That completely ionizes into anions and cations in a solution.

13. (military) Not easily subdued or taken.

14. Having wealth or resources.

15. (slang, US) Impressive, good.

16. Having a specified number of people or units.

17. (of a disease or symptom) Severe; very bad or intense.
    • 2005, Andrew Gaeddert, Healing Immune Disorders: Natural Defense-Building Solutions, North Atlantic Books, page 221:

      Physicians may diagnosis influenza by a throat culture or blood test, which may be important if you have a particularly strong flu, if your doctor suspects pneumonia or a bacterial infection.

18. (mathematics, logic) Having a wide range of logical consequences; widely applicable. (Often contrasted with a weak statement which it implies.)
19. (of an argument) Convincing.

Synonyms

• (capable of producing great physical force): forceful, powerful, derf
• (capable of withstanding great physical force): durable, tough, sturdy
• (determined, unyielding): ardent, determined, swith, unyielding, zealous
• (highly stimulating to the senses): extreme, intense
• (having an offensive or intense odor or flavor): rank
• (having a high concentration of an essential or active ingredient): concentrated, potent
• (having a high alcoholic content): hard
• (grammar: irregular): irregular
• (military: not easily subdued or taken): impregnable, inviolable, secure, unassailable, unattackable

Antonyms

• (capable of producing great physical force): forceless, weak
• (capable of withstanding great physical force): fragile
• (having a high concentration of an essential or active ingredient): diluted, impotent, weak
• (grammar: irregular): regular, weak
• (chemistry: that completely ionizes): weak
• (military: not easily subdued or taken): weak

Hyponyms

• ultra-strong

Translations

See also

• strength

Adverb

strong (not comparable)

1. In a strong manner.

Synonyms

• (in a strong manner): forcefully, powerfully, vigorously, strongly

Antonyms

• (in a strong manner): forcelessly, powerlessly, weakly

Translations

See also

• strong as an ox
• strong personality
• strong verb

Anagrams

• trongs

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English strang, form Proto-Germanic *strangaz.

Alternative forms

• stronge, stronke, stron, strange, straunge

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /str?n?/

Adjective

strong (plural and weak singular stronge, comparative strongere, superlative strongest)

1. strong

Antonyms

• feble
• weyk

Descendants

• English: strong
• Scots: strang
• Yola: straung

References

• “strong, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

From Old French estrange

Adjective

strong

1. Alternative form of straunge

Swedish

Etymology

Through Swedish slang, based on English strong, since 1922. There is also a form strång with a different sense since 1640.

Adjective

strong (comparative strongare, superlative strongast)

1. mentally and morally strong, courageous

Declension

Related terms

• strongt

References

• strong in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• strong in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Tok Pisin

Etymology

English strong

Adjective

strong

1. Capable of producing great physical force; strong.
2. Capable of withstanding great physical force; strong.
3. Determined, unyielding.

See also

• strongim
• strongpela

Noun

strong

1. Strength