Bulwark    (pronounced bul-werk, with the first syllable pronounced either as in the word "bull" or as in the word "dull") noun


Definition

1. a solid wall or other similar structure built for defense; rampart; breakwater.    2. anything (such as a person, organization, law, rule, practice, relationship, etc.) serving as a strong defense or support, or as a source of encouragement.

Main Example

  • Preventing nuclear proliferation is a central tenet of our foreign policy. Why then did the U.S. pretty much condone President Musharraf's pardoning of A.Q. Khan, the scientist who, for years, sold nuclear secrets as well as nuclear bomb-making equipment to countries such as North Korea, Libya, and Iran? To avoid destabilizing the regime of Musharraf who is a valued bulwark against terrorism.

    Workplace Examples

  • Our research and development expenditure far exceeds that of anyone else in the industry. That investment is our bulwark against the competition.

  • We used to lose valued employees to other firms. But, lately, we have safeguarded and somehow bulwarked our best talent by rewarding them with a much bigger slice of the pie.

    Other Examples

  • at the inauguration of a brand new gallery devoted solely to artists from Maine and surrounding states, the museum director saying: "This will stand as the bulwark of appreciation of New England talent."

  • a renowned safety specialist giving expert testimony, bulwarking a manufacturer's safety claims for its controversial new toy

  • the Sierra Club saying it's a bulwark in the fight to protect the pristine quality of the Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge

  • during the Cold War, the West supporting some dictators in Asia and Africa because they were regarded as bulwarks against the spread of Communism

  • Americans critical of the Supreme Court's ruling against Attorney General Ashcroft in the matter of the Guantanamo Bay detainees' rights saying "the courts are an obstruction to anti-terrorism" while those on the other side saying "our courts are the bulwark of our democracy"

    © 2004 V.J. Singal

    This Month's Other Words

    Vortex
    Tin Ear
    Truculent
    Engender
    Bulwark
    Vacuous
    Pernicious
    Circumscribe

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