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Solid

adj. capable, resilient professional

What it means

Meaning 1

Firm, stable, and resistant to breaking or shifting.

Reach for it when praising dependable physical construction

The repaired platform felt solid under the test load.

Meaning 2

Dependable, well-founded, and of good substantial quality.

Reach for it when praising evidence, work, judgment, or achievement that can bear scrutiny

The proposal rests on solid evidence from three seasons.

Words to choose between 9

By register, from playful at the top to literary at the bottom, and by meaning across. Tap a word to see when it fits.
Meaning 1Meaning 2
everyday
professional
formal

Meaning 1: Firm, stable, and resistant to breaking or shifting.

  • everyday

    strong

    Fits when capacity to resist force is central

    Careful Strength does not imply stability or continuity.

  • everyday

    sturdy

    Fits when physical strength in ordinary use matters

    Careful Sturdy is less natural for evidence or geometry.

  • professional

    stable

    Fits when resistance to movement or change matters

    Careful A stable object may be fragile.

  • professional

    substantial

    Fits when meaningful amount or robust material is central

    Careful Substantial does not guarantee dependable structure.

Meaning 2: Dependable, well-founded, and of good substantial quality.

  • professional

    competent

    Fits when work meets a defined standard

    Careful Competent is cooler and weaker than solid praise.

  • professional

    credible

    Fits when a claim deserves belief

    Careful Credibility concerns trust, not necessarily quality.

  • professional

    reliable

    Fits when repeated dependability is central

    Careful Reliability does not imply depth or substance.

  • professional

    sound

    Fits when reasoning or construction is free from serious defect

    Careful Sound is measured praise and less forceful.

  • formal

    well-founded

    Fits when evidence supports a claim

    Careful Well-founded is limited to beliefs, claims, and plans.

Opposites 4

  • fragile
  • unstable
  • flimsy
  • baseless

Common phrases 4

  • solid foundation

    The extension rests on a solid foundation of reused stone.

  • solid evidence

    The review found solid evidence for the maintenance change.

  • solid performance

    The apprentice delivered a solid performance under unfamiliar conditions.

  • solid construction

    Solid construction made the simple bench last for decades.

Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Naomi Persephone Amethyst, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Updated