\Strong\, a. [Compar. {Stronger}; superl. {Strongest}.]
[AS. strang, strong; akin to D. & G. streng strict, rigorous,
OHG. strengi strong, brave, harsh, Icel. strangr strong,
severe, Dan. streng, Sw. str["a]ng strict, severe. Cf.
{Strength}, {Stretch}, {String}.]
1. Having active physical power, or great physical power to
   act; having a power of exerting great bodily force;
   vigorous.
         That our oxen may be strong to labor. --Ps. cxliv.
                                               14.
         Orses the strong to greater strength must yield.
                                               --Dryden.
2. Having passive physical power; having ability to bear or
   endure; firm; hale; sound; robust; as, a strong
   constitution; strong health.
3. Solid; tough; not easily broken or injured; able to
   withstand violence; able to sustain attacks; not easily
   subdued or taken; as, a strong beam; a strong rock; a
   strong fortress or town.
4. Having great military or naval force; powerful; as, a
   strong army or fleet; a nation strong at sea.
5. Having great wealth, means, or resources; as, a strong
   house, or company of merchants.
6. Reaching a certain degree or limit in respect to strength
   or numbers; as, an army ten thousand strong.
7. Moving with rapidity or force; violent; forcible;
   impetuous; as, a strong current of water or wind; the wind
   was strong from the northeast; a strong tide.
8. Adapted to make a deep or effectual impression on the mind
   or imagination; striking or superior of the kind;
   powerful; forcible; cogent; as, a strong argument; strong
   reasons; strong evidence; a strong example; strong
   language.
9. Ardent; eager; zealous; earnestly engaged; as, a strong
   partisan; a strong Whig or Tory.
         Her mother, ever strong against that match. --Shak.
10. Having virtues of great efficacy; or, having a particular
    quality in a great degree; as, a strong powder or
    tincture; a strong decoction; strong tea or coffee.
11. Full of spirit; containing a large proportion of alcohol;
    intoxicating; as, strong liquors.
12. Affecting any sense powerfully; as, strong light, colors,
    etc.; a strong flavor of onions; a strong scent.
13. Solid; nourishing; as, strong meat. --Heb. v. 12.
14. Well established; firm; not easily overthrown or altered;
    as, a strong custom; a strong belief.
15. Violent; vehement; earnest; ardent.
          He had offered up prayers and supplications with
          strong crying and tears.             --Heb. v. 7.
16. Having great force, vigor, power, or the like, as the
    mind, intellect, or any faculty; as, a man of a strong
    mind, memory, judgment, or imagination.
          I was stronger in prophecy than in criticism.
                                               --Dryden.
17. Vigorous; effective; forcible; powerful.
          Like her sweet voice is thy harmonious song, As
          high, as sweet, as easy, and as strong. --E. Smith.
18. (Stock Exchange) Tending to higher prices; rising; as, a
    strong market.
19. (Gram.)
    (a) Pertaining to, or designating, a verb which forms its
        preterit (imperfect) by a variation in the root
        vowel, and the past participle (usually) by the
        addition of -en (with or without a change of the root
        vowel); as in the verbs strive, strove, striven;
        break, broke, broken; drink, drank, drunk. Opposed to
        weak, or regular. See {Weak}.
    (b) Applied to forms in Anglo-Saxon, etc., which retain
        the old declensional endings. In the Teutonic
        languages the vowel stems have held the original
        endings most firmly, and are called strong; the stems
        in -n are called weak other constant stems conform,
        or are irregular. --F. A. March.
{Strong conjugation} (Gram.), the conjugation of a strong
   verb; -- called also {old, or irregular, conjugation}, and
   distinguished from the {weak, or regular, conjugation}.
Note: Strong is often used in the formation of
      self-explaining compounds; as, strong-backed,
      strong-based, strong-bodied, strong-colored,
      strong-fisted, strong-handed, strong-ribbed,
      strong-smelling, strong-voiced, etc.
Syn: Vigorous; powerful; stout; solid; firm; hardy; muscular;
     forcible; cogent; valid. See {Robust}.