FLYING BUTTRESS Synonyms: 13 Similar Words

flying buttress

noun

Definition of flying buttress

as in buttress

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of flying buttress An aerodynamic channel in the rear pillar creates a flying buttress, while the roof is painted black. — Caleb Miller, Car and Driver, 11 Nov. 2021 Details – rose windows, gargoyles, flying buttresses – came gradually. — Mike Hughes, Cincinnati.com, 26 Apr. 2020 The vault is punctured by three gaping holes, and the flying buttresses are propped up by giant wooden blocks. — Aurelien Breeden, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2020 And the damage threatened the delicate balance of forces between the vault and the cathedral’s flying buttresses: The entire building teetered on possible collapse. — Christa Lesté-Lasserre, Science | AAAS, 12 Mar. 2020 See All Example Sentences for flying buttress

Recent Examples of Synonyms for flying buttress

Noun

Mahama stressed the need for African governments to cut waste and improve governance as a buttress against increasingly frequent international shocks because a return to the old system of global support is very unlikely.

— Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 5 June 2026
Over the next five years restoration will extend to the three great rose windows of the west, north, and south façades, the flying buttresses of the nave, the west façade towers, and the windows of the nave tribune as well as the choir chapels.

— Michael T. Davis, The New York Review of Books, 23 May 2026

Definition of buttress

Noun

A lot of them are tucked away in vitrines that serve as pedestals for dresses by some of the world’s most exclusive designers.

— Jed Perl, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026
In Portland, Oregon, a statue of Lincoln is set to be reinstalled after it was pulled off its pedestal in 2020 amid national social justice protests that followed the killing of George Floyd.

— Chris Kenning, USA Today, 2 July 2026

Definition of pedestal

Noun

How an audience discovers that needle in the haystack requires research rigor requiring access to a multiplicity of data streams.

— Frank Racioppi, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
From shabby apartments to art experiments to filthy needles—with echoes of Patti Smith and Rebecca Makkai—Adler conjures an era of sorrow borne by too many, too young.

— Hamilton Cain, Time, 7 July 2026

Definition of needle

Browse Nearby Words

flying at

flying buttress

flying buttresses

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Style

“Flying buttress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/flying%20buttress. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of flying buttress

noun

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