staunch

Tonga combined classy attacking play with staunch defence, mixed with a pinch of luck - while being cheered on by a ferociously partisan crowd in Perth - to cause a major upset.

From BBC ● Oct. 17, 2026

Some advised him to head to Belarus, a staunch Russian ally, and then to Armenia, where he would be stuck in legal limbo.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Doing so may staunch the sharp selloff in the $31.5 trillion Treasury market that has pushed long-end yields to their highest levels in decades.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026

After the elections, Min Aung Hlaing -- who led the coup as armed forces chief -- took over as civilian president, handing the office of military leader to staunch loyalist Ye Win Oo.

From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026

He began his Sunday with a twelve-minute phone call to his national security advisor, Henry Kissinger, a staunch believer in the Madman Theory.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Two years after the WTO's last ministerial conference in Abu Dhabi failed to make meaningful progress on key issues like fisheries and agriculture, member states face even stauncher challenges.

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

However, the source said Reeker tried to get the agency to issue a stauncher defense of Yovanovitch.

From Reuters ● Oct. 26, 2019

He conceived it as an alternative to 4chan, one with an even stauncher commitment to anything-goes content moderation.

From The New Yorker ● Sep. 23, 2019

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. strongly backed Hadi, and the new president proved a stauncher ally to the U.S. than Saleh in the fight against al-Qaida’s branch in the country.

From Time ● Mar. 22, 2015

Next day the detachment of the 44th which had guarded an exposed position had to be withdrawn, ceding the post of honour to the stauncher sepoys.

From The Afghan Wars 1839-42 and 1878-80 by Archibald Forbes

When negotiations grew difficult, he could become inflexible, leaving even the bill’s staunchest allies in the Senate feeling slighted, people involved in the process said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 20, 2026

“He became one of my staunchest supporters and schooled me on whom I could trust and whom I could never turn my back on.”

From Slate ● Feb. 25, 2026

In the year commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, it is supremely ironic that 2026 could also mark a similar declaration by America’s historically staunchest allies.

From Barron's ● Jan. 24, 2026

At Granja Elena in Zona Franca, I enjoyed a tomato and scallop tartare that could entice even the staunchest carnivore.

From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2025

Her father was the staunchest man who'd ever lived, and she had no doubt that he would call his banners . . . but would the banners come?

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin