Hale
What it means
Strong, healthy, and vigorous, especially despite age or hardship.
Reach for it when praising robust condition when the slightly old-fashioned tone fits
At eighty-seven, Arun remained hale enough to tend the steep orchard.
Words to choose between 6
| playful | |
|---|---|
| everyday | |
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
|
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playful
fit as a fiddle
Fits when affectionate idiom suits informal celebration of health
Careful The cliché can trivialize disability or a complex medical condition.
-
everyday
Fits when sound health should be stated in familiar language
Careful Healthy is broader and lacks hale's emphasis on visible vigor.
-
everyday
Fits when solid health and energetic appetite suit friendly praise
Careful Hearty can describe food or enthusiasm and may be ambiguous.
-
warm
Fits when energy and active strength are the most visible qualities
Careful Vigorous activity can occur despite poor health and says less about overall condition.
-
professional
Fits when strong functioning under ordinary demands is evident
Careful Robust can describe systems and may sound clinical when praising an older person.
-
formal
sound
Fits when stable underlying condition matters more than liveliness
Careful Sound feels technical and can understate an energetic presence.
Opposites 3
- frail
- infirm
- sickly
Common phrases 3
-
hale and hearty
She arrived hale and hearty after the long sea journey.
-
remarkably hale
The remarkably hale gardener still carries his own tools.
-
remain hale
Regular company and useful work helped him remain hale.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Vealhurl, Southern England accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated