to stand fast
- phrasal verb
- /stænd fæst/
- And whether we shall enjoy our civil liberty any longer, for unless we do stand fast to our liberty, we can look to nothing but miserable and perpetual slavery.
They tried everything but he he stood fast by what he believed in and they killed him.
- They tried everything but he he stood fast by what he believed in and they killed him.
Examples
-
All other units stand fast.
-
Cave and go along, or stand fast and get blamed for wrecking the economy.
Blog text (30) -
My members will stand fast.
-
Men, stand fast and listen up.
-
- You can tell your bosses we're standing fast!
-
And America stood fast so that liberty could stand tall.
Academic text (1996) -
We must stand fast and teach our curriculum while adding classroom subject matter as a reinforcer.
Academic text (2007) -
Voters should utilize this opportunity to stand fast and send a clear signal to lawmakers: increased taxation is not the solution to the problem.
Blog text (22) -
Whatever principles are set before you, stand fast by these like laws, feeling that it would be impiety for you to transgress them.
-
During the debate, she decided to stand fast on her beliefs, even when faced with criticism from her peers.
Synonyms
To defend yourself when someone treats you unfairly
To refuse to give up until you get what you want
To keep your position when others disagree
Publicly say you strongly agree or disagree with something
Keep your decision or opinion when others try to make you change
To resist a person or rule that treats people unfairly
Keep supporting your idea when others disagree
To refuse to change your opinion or decision despite pressure
To refuse to change a decision or rule under pressure
Keep the same decision even when others disagree
To keep the same opinion or decision and not change it
To refuse to change your mind and stay firm
Refuse to change an opinion or position at all
To state an opinion strongly and refuse to change it when others disagree
Refuse to change an opinion or plan when pressed
Keep doing what you believe is right even when it is hard
Defend your ideas or what you want when others disagree
Antonyms
How Firm
- Informal
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to refuse to change your opinion' is directly derivable from combining 'stand' (to hold a position) with 'fast' (firmly/steadfast); the compound simply expresses holding one’s position firmly. This compositional pattern (cf. 'stand firm') is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Stand fast comes from old orders in battle that told soldiers to stand without moving because fast used to mean 'firm' or 'fixed'. So to stand fast was to 'stand firm', which is why today it means 'to refuse to change your opinion or belief'.