Make Your Point > Archived Issues > CITADEL
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"Citadels" happens to be the name of a lovely tabletop game. You compete to create buildings: hospitals, museums, and, of course, fortresses.
In gaming, in fantasy, and in reality, a citadel is a stronghold, a fortress, much like a b_st__n (a strong place fortified against attacks, or anything that strongly protects a certain quality), or a b_lw_rk (a strong wall of defense, or something that protects against something else).
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make your point with...
"CITADEL"
This word has roots that mean "little city."
Literally speaking, a citadel is a fortress: a strong building that offers protection.
Here's the Citadel of Aleppo (thanks, Wikipedia!):
And, on a ship, the citadel is the part that's well-protected from attacks.
Figuratively, a citadel is something that reminds you of a longstanding fortress because it strongly protects something.
Pronunciation:
SIT uh dell
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "a citadel," "these citadels."
Other forms:
The plural is "citadels."
And it's rare, but you can call something "citadelled," meaning it has a citadel, or it reminds you of a citadel.
How to use it:
Even to listeners unfamiliar with it, this word is easy to understand.
It sounds grand, impressive, beautiful, and historical.
You might talk literally about citadels: "the citadel of Corinth," "the tenth century citadel," "they retreated to a mountain citadel."
But we're interested in figurative citadels. We might talk poetically about how the heart, the mind, or the family is a citadel, keeping what's inside safe from outside intrusions.
But you can call anything a citadel if it seems to protect and preserve something, allowing it to thrive and remain untouched by outside forces that might weaken it, attack it, or alter it in some way.
Often we call something "a citadel of something" (or "the citadel of something"). Bob Dylan called a gathering spot in New York "the citadel of Americana folk music." The Los Angeles Times called a restaurant the "citadel of fried chicken."
examples:
"The blood-brain barrier forms a rather impenetrable citadel around the organ, so getting a drug past it remains a challenge."
— Bret Stetka, Scientific American, 27 March 2019
"...the day after tomorrow,
that citadel of stillness, unspoiled
by ambition or labor..."
— Billy Collins, "The Day After Tomorrow," The Rain in Portugal: Poems, 2016
has this page helped you understand "citadel"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "citadel" without saying "stronghold" or "refuge."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "To attack (one very important part) is to attack (an entire idea, belief, institution, tradition, or group of people) in (its or their) citadel."
Example: "To attack freedom of speech is to attack the American spirit in its citadel."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
In August, we're playing the time-honored Game of Venery!
We're inventing terms for groups of things: terms that James Lipton, the author of An Exaltation of Larks, calls "shards of poetry and truth." Example terms of venery include lovely ones like "a conflagration of fireflies" and silly ones like "a myopia of umpires," "a rash of dermatologists," and "an unemployment of graduates."
In each issue this month, I'll offer two templates. Have fun filling them in and sharing your inventions with your family, being as lofty, silly, or bawdy as you like. In each subsequent issue, I'll list the actual terms that appear in Lipton's book.
From the previous issue:
1. A paroxysm of _____
2. A _____ of MC's (that is, Masters of Ceremonies: hosts of staged events or other performances)
The terms listed in the book are "a paroxysm of punk rockers" and "a bonhomie of MC's."
Try these today:
1. A cacophony of _____
2. A _____ of talk show hosts
review this word:
1. A near opposite of CITADEL is
A. SHADY VALLEY.
B. VULNERABLE POSITION.
C. COMPROMISED IDENTITY.
2. In "Citadel," the Rolling Stones see a metropolis as a kind of _____, complete with _____.
A. grand parkway .. pristine palm trees
B. old, irrelevant newspaper .. sad stories
C. exclusive castle .. pinnacles and armed guards
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
"Citadels" happens to be the name of a lovely tabletop game. You compete to create buildings: hospitals, museums, and, of course, fortresses.
In gaming, in fantasy, and in reality, a citadel is a stronghold, a fortress, much like a b_st__n (a strong place fortified against attacks, or anything that strongly protects a certain quality), or a b_lw_rk (a strong wall of defense, or something that protects against something else). This word has roots that mean "little city."
And, on a ship, the citadel is the part that's well-protected from attacks.
"The blood-brain barrier forms a rather impenetrable citadel around the organ, so getting a drug past it remains a challenge."
Explain the meaning of "citadel" without saying "stronghold" or "refuge."
Fill in the blanks: "To attack (one very important part) is to attack (an entire idea, belief, institution, tradition, or group of people) in (its or their) citadel."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of CITADEL is
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