Contravallation

C2 16+

Pronunciation: /ˌkɑntrəvəˈleɪʃən/

Definitions of contravallation

noun a military strategy involving the construction of defensive walls or fortifications around a besieged city or fortress

Example Sentences

A1 The soldiers built a contravallation to protect their camp.

A2 The ancient city was surrounded by a contravallation to defend against enemies.

B1 The military strategy involved constructing a contravallation to fortify the position.

B2 The general ordered the construction of a contravallation to strengthen the defenses of the fortress.

C1 The elaborate contravallation was a key element in the successful defense of the city.

C2 The engineers meticulously planned the contravallation to withstand any enemy siege tactics.

Examples of contravallation in a Sentence

formal The army used contravallation tactics to surround the enemy fortress.

informal The soldiers set up contravallation walls to block off the enemy.

slang We gotta build some contravallation stuff to keep them out.

figurative Her emotional walls were like contravallation, keeping everyone at a distance.

Grammatical Forms of contravallation

past tense

contravallated

plural

contravallations

comparative

more contravallated

superlative

most contravallated

present tense

contravallates

future tense

will contravallate

perfect tense

have contravallated

continuous tense

is contravallating

singular

contravallation

positive degree

contravallate

infinitive

to contravallate

gerund

contravallating

participle

contravallating

Origin and Evolution of contravallation

First Known Use: 1601 year
Language of Origin: Latin
Story behind the word: The word 'contravallation' originated from Latin
Evolution of the word: Originally used in military contexts to refer to the act of surrounding a besieging force with defensive walls and fortifications, the term 'contravallation' has evolved to also mean the act of opposing or resisting something in a general sense.