I. staunch 1 /stɔːntʃ $ stɒːntʃ, stɑːntʃ/ BrE AmE adjective [only before noun]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estanche , from estancher ; ⇨ ↑ staunch 2 ]
giving strong loyal support to another person, organization, belief etc SYN steadfast :
a staunch conservative
staunch supporter/ally/advocate
one of Bush’s staunchest supporters
—staunchly adverb
—staunchness noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ faithful continuing to support a person, party, belief etc for a long time:
his long and faithful service to the party
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his faithful servant
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He remained faithful to his fatherland right to the end.
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She was one of the party’s most faithful and hardworking members.
▪ loyal supporting a particular person, party, set of beliefs, etc – used especially about someone you can can trust and depend on to support you:
a loyal friend
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loyal party members
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The women have remained loyal to the goals of the Communist Party.
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I am not blindly loyal. If I see something that I think is a mistake which could be handled better, I will say so.
▪ devoted strongly supporting someone or something because you admire them, love them, or enjoy what they do:
the author’s devoted fans
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her devoted husband
▪ staunch [only before noun] a staunch supporter, defender, or ↑ ally is very loyal, in spite of problems or difficulties:
He is a staunch supporter of the president.
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a staunch defender of civil liberties
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the US’s staunchest ally
▪ steadfast [usually before noun] a steadfast friend or supporter is very loyal. Also used about someone’s support or service:
Lewis was a generous and steadfast friend.
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the steadfast support of America's allies
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The Queen has set a shining example of steadfast service to her country.
▪ true faithful and loyal to someone, or to your beliefs, principles etc, even if there are problems:
In times like these you find out who your true friends are.
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He remained true to his socialist priniciples.
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She promised that she would always be true to him.
▪ patriotic feeling a lot of love and respect for your country:
Americans are very patriotric.
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His speech was full of patriotic rhetoric.
II. staunch 2 BrE AmE ( also stanch American English ) verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: estancher , from Vulgar Latin stanticare , from Latin stare 'to stand' ]
to stop the flow of liquid, especially of blood from a wound SYN stem :
He used a rag to staunch the flow of blood.