robust

adjective ro·bust \rō-ˈbəst, ˈrō-(ˌ)bəst\

: strong and healthy

: strongly formed or built

: successful or impressive and not likely to fail or weaken

Full Definition of ROBUST

a : having or exhibiting strength or vigorous health

b : having or showing vigor, strength, or firmness <a robust debate> <a robust faith>

c : strongly formed or constructed : sturdy <a robust plastic>

d : capable of performing without failure under a wide range of conditions <robust software>

: rough, rude <stories … laden with robust, down-home imagery — Playboy>

: requiring strength or vigor <robust work>

: full-bodied <robust coffee>; also : hearty <a robust dinner>

: of, relating to, resembling, or being a relatively large, heavyset australopithecine (especially Australopithecus robustus and A. boisei) characterized especially by heavy molars and small incisors adapted to a vegetarian diet — compare gracile 3

— ro·bust·ly adverb

— ro·bust·ness \-ˈbəs(t)-nəs, -(ˌ)bəs(t)-\ noun

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Examples of ROBUST

If Singapore, just seven miles to the north with its glittering skyline and robust economy, is Southeast Asia's Cinderella, Batam is her dark sister. —Peter Gwin, National Geographic, October 2007
The greatest gains in mine mechanization came in a burst of innovation following World War II, when robust new machines were developed … —Robert L. Marovelli, Scientific American, September 1982
Humfry was a man whom everyone noticed. His stature was above ordinary, his complexion sanguine, his conversation lively, and his constitution robust. —Samuel Eliot Morison, The European Discovery of America, 1971
Why is almost every robust healthy boy with a robust healthy soul in him, at some time or other crazy to go to sea? —Herman Melville, Moby Dick, 1851
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Origin of ROBUST

Latin robustus oaken, strong, from robor-, robur oak, strength

First Known Use: 1533

Related to ROBUST

Synonyms: able-bodied, bouncing, fit, hale, hearty, healthy, sound, well, well-conditioned, whole, wholesome

Antonyms: ailing, diseased, ill, sick, unfit, unhealthy, unsound, unwell

Synonym Discussion of ROBUST

healthy, sound, wholesome, robust, hale, well mean enjoying or indicative of good health. healthy implies full strength and vigor as well as freedom from signs of disease <a healthy family>. sound emphasizes the absence of disease, weakness, or malfunction <a sound heart>. wholesome implies appearance and behavior indicating soundness and balance <a face with a wholesome glow>. robust implies the opposite of all that is delicate or sickly <a lively, robust little boy>. hale applies particularly to robustness in old age <still hale at the age of eighty>. well implies merely freedom from disease or illness <she has never been a well person>.