tower of strength
1
5.0
- noun
:
pilar de fortaleza
- In tough times, he has always been a tower of strength for our family.
Examples
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During her illness, she remained a tower of strength for her friends and loved ones.
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You know, you expect a man to be a tower of strength.
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What a tower of strength she was.
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Empty words, Blake, from a man who used to be such a tower of strength.
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You're a tower of strength.
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Since Henry's death, he'd been a tower of strength, though, and his business sense had pulled them out of more than one tight corner.
Fiction book (1991) -
Mamba entered the hut, and from a suffering and worried seven-year-old, she turned into a tower of strength and a woman aged beyond her years with anxiety.
Fiction book (1999) -
Through all the challenges, my grandmother was a tower of strength who supported us endlessly.
Synonyms
43
4.0
A person or thing that gives support and makes someone feel confident
2
4.1
A person who gives strong, steady support to others in hard times
A person or thing that gives steady support in hard times
Antonyms
How Supportive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase combines literal senses—'tower' as a tall, stable structure and 'strength' as robustness—so a learner can infer a metaphor of solidity and support; however, the mapping from a physical tower to a dependable person is a conventional metaphor that is not strictly compositional. Because the meaning depends on recognizing this metaphorical transfer (similar to 'pillar/rock of strength') it is partly inferable but still requires prior exposure, so it is not fully transparent.
Etymology
The phrase tower of strength paints a picture of a tall, strong tower showing great strength, standing firm in a storm and keeping people safe. So someone called a tower of strength is a person you can rely on for steady 'support' and 'comfort' in hard times.