| Main Entry: | mainstay |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | chief support |
Synonyms: |
anchor, backbone, brace, bulwark, buttress, crutch, good right arm, linchpin, maintainer, pillar, prop, right-hand person, sinew, staff, standby, stay, strength, supporter, sustainer, upholder |
| Main Entry: | anchor |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | something used to hold another thing securely |
Synonyms: |
ballast, bower, comfort, defense, fastener, foothold, grapnel, grappling iron, grip, hold, hook, kedge, mainstay, mooring, mud hook, pillar, protection, safeguard, security, staff, stay, support |
| Main Entry: | bastion |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | support; fortified place |
Synonyms: |
breastwork, bulwark, citadel, defense, fortification, fortress, mainstay, parapet, prop, protection, rock, stronghold, support, tower of strength |
Antonyms: |
weak spot, weakness |
| Main Entry: | brace |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | support |
Synonyms: |
arm, band, bar, bearing, block, bolster, boom, bracer, bracket, buttress, cantilever, clamp, girder, grip, guy, lever, mainstay, peg, prop, rafter, reinforcement, rib, shore, skid, splice, splint, staff, stanchion, stave, stay, stirrup, strengthener, strut, sustainer, truss, underpinning, vice |
| Main Entry: | bulwark |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | fortification, support |
Synonyms: |
barrier, bastion, buffet, buttress, citadel, defense, embankment, fort, fortress, guard, mainstay, outwork, parapet, partition, protection, rampart, redoubt, safeguard, security, stronghold, vallation |
Antonyms: |
weak point |
| Main Entry: | buttress |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | brace, support |
Synonyms: |
abutment, column, mainstay, pier, prop, reinforcement, shore, stanchion, stay, strut, underpinning |
| Main Entry: | cornerstone |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | vital element |
Synonyms: |
anchor, base, essential, foundation, key element, keystone, linchpin, main ingredient, mainspring, mainstay, pillar |
| Main Entry: | prop |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | support |
Synonyms: |
aid, assistance, brace, buttress, column, mainstay, post, shore, stanchion, stay, strengthener, strut, truss, underpinning |
| Main Entry: | protagonist |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | person who takes the lead; central figure of narrative |
Synonyms: |
advocate, central character, champion, combatant, exemplar, exponent, hero, idol, lead, lead character, leader, mainstay, prime mover, principal, standard-bearer, warrior |
| Notes: | protagonist is Greek for 'first (important) actor' or 'first struggler' and by extension is used for a person who drives the action in a situation or is the main character in a literary work; the protagonist is the hero or heroine and an antagonist is his/her principal opponent |
Antonyms: |
antagonist |
| Main Entry: | rock |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | foundation |
Synonyms: |
Rock of Gibraltar, anchor, bulwark, cornerstone, defense, mainstay, protection, strength, support |