Robust — A Vocabulary Story
The Robust Runner
Kofi had absolutely no business entering the school cross-country run.
He knew it. His PE teacher, Mr Briggs, strongly suspected it. And by the third lap, when Kofi emerged from the woods covered in mud with one sock missing, most of the crowd had formed an opinion too.
But here was the thing about Kofi — he was robust.
Robust means strong, sturdy, and able to withstand pressure or difficulty. Kofi had always been that way. Not the fastest, not the most graceful, but genuinely, stubbornly difficult to stop.
He'd twisted his ankle on a tree root in lap one. He'd run directly into a low branch in lap two. He'd lost the sock in circumstances he'd rather not discuss.
And yet.
His dad was standing at the finish line, flask of tea in hand, scanning the field. When he spotted Kofi — limping, lopsided, and absolutely beaming — he started laughing so hard he sloshed tea down his jacket.
Kofi crossed the line fourteenth out of seventeen.
Mr Briggs handed him a bottle of water and shook his head slowly. "I genuinely don't know how you're still upright."
"I'm quite robust, sir."
"You are indeed, Kofi."
"Thanks, sir."
Kofi grinned, found his dad, and accepted a slightly tea-damp hug.
Fourteenth. He'd take it.
Word Definition
robust
meaning
strong, sturdy, and able to withstand pressure or difficulty
synonyms
strong · vigorous · powerful · dynamic · tough
antonyms
weak · fragile · feeble
example sentence
The robust economy showed no signs of slowing down.