fortifiable

fortifiable — adjective

  • fortifiablepositive
  • more fortifiablecomparative
  • most fortifiablesuperlative

1. able to be made stronger so that it can resist an attack or stand up to pressure

1.adjectiveC2
Definition

able to be made stronger so that it can resist an attack or stand up to pressure.

Example

The high stone walls made the old castle easily fortifiable against any army.

fortifiable against [attack]

Elena argued that the narrow mountain pass was the most fortifiable point on the border.

most fortifiable + noun

Common collocations
  • easily fortifiable
  • highly fortifiable
  • fortifiable position
Synonyms
  • defensible

    more common; stresses being easy to defend, not necessarily through added structures

  • securable

    broader; can be made safe by any means, not only military defences

Antonyms
  • indefensible

    impossible to protect against attack

  • exposed

    open to attack, with no natural protection

Grammar Patterns

easily fortifiable

fortifiable against [attack]

Usage Note

Almost always used of places, positions, or borders that can be defended; rarely applied to people. Distinguish from 'fortified', which describes a place that has already been made strong.

Common Mistakes

The soldiers were very fortifiable.
The hill was very fortifiable.
the word describes a place or position that can be defended, not the people defending it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

These three words all describe something that can be protected, but they differ in how. 'Fortifiable' is the most specific: it means a place can be made stronger by adding walls, banks, or other defences, so it leans toward military or physical building work. 'Defensible' is more common and wider; it simply means a position is easy to hold against attack, often because of its natural shape, with or without extra building. 'Securable' is the broadest and least military: a door, a network, or a building is securable if you can make it safe by any means, such as locks or guards. Compare: a steep hill is naturally defensible; that same hill becomes fortifiable once you decide walls could be built on it; a warehouse with good locks is simply securable.

fortifiable ↗defensible ↗securable

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • easily fortifiable position

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Built from the verb 'fortify' plus '-able', a common ending that turns a verb into an adjective meaning 'able to be done'. 'Fortify' came into English through Old French from Latin 'fortis', meaning 'strong', combined with a root meaning 'to make'. So the word literally points to something that can be 'made strong'.