I. rōˈbəst, ˈrōˌbəst also ˈrō_b- adjective
( often -er/-est )
Etymology: Latin robustus oaken, hard, strong, from robor-, robur oak, strength; perhaps akin to Latin ruber red — more at red
1.
a. : having or exhibiting strength or vigorous health : powerful , muscular , vigorous
a new land, full of robust people — Green Peyton
a hearty, robust man in his middle sixties — Jule Mannix
b. : firm and assured in purpose, opinion, or outlook
this embodied moral healthiness, this robust sayer of Yea and Nay … this genuine man — W.L.Sullivan
the robust skepticism of science — M.R.Cohen
a faith so robust as to outlive shock upon shock of disillusion — Irving Babbitt
c. : exceptionally sound : flourishing
men and women of robust health and keen intelligence — W.R.Inge
protected by history, by geography and … by its robust liberal tradition — A.M.Schlesinger b.1917
d. : strongly formed or constructed : sturdy
robust flowering plants such as veratrum, larkspur, lupine — John Muir †1914
the furniture is structurally as robust as the society it served — John Gloag
sex in any race is shown by the general proportion of the bones … the male frame being more robust and the bones … more rugged — R.W.Murray
2. : rough , rude
appease their hunger with pemmican and their spirits with roistering songs and robust stories — American Guide Series: Minnesota
3. : requiring strength or vigor
the physical weakling … of little material value to the group in the robust economy of the hunters — R.W.Murray
4. : full-bodied , strong
splendidly robust soups and stews — New Yorker
robust coffee
Synonyms: see healthy
II. adjective
Etymology: New Latin robustus
: relating to, resembling, or being a specialized group of hominids of the genus Australopithecus (as A. robustus and A. boisei ) characterized especially by heavy molars and small incisors adapted to a vegetarian diet — compare gracile herein