entrenchment
Dug-in military position
Entrenchment is the state of being firmly established and resistant to change.
An entrenched position—whether military, political, or ideological—is dug in and difficult to dislodge: The entrenchment of special interests makes reform nearly impossible.
The word carries connotations of rigidity and defensiveness, suggesting something has become so fixed that removing it would require considerable effort.
Reinforced subterranean stronghold
- foxholeMilitary defensive excavation
- earthworkConstructed soil structure
- redoubtEnclosed temporary fortification
- parapetLow wall at edge
breastwork · bastion · rampart · palisade · stockade · emplacement · strongpoint · garrison
Combining into unified whole
- rigidityState of being unbending
- ossificationConversion to bone tissue
- fixationPersistent mental attachment
- immovabilityInability to be shifted
inflexibility · stubbornness · intractability · permanence · deep-rooted · ingrained · embedded · hardening
Guarding against harm
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- bulwarkDefensive fortification or safeguard
- safeguardingPreventing harm or loss
- shieldingProtecting from harm
guarding · stronghold · citadel · fortress · blockade · defensive line · perimeter · buffer
Act of unearthing
- ditchShallow excavated channel
- earthworkConstructed soil structure
- spadeFlat-bladed digging implement
- shovelTool for moving earth
sapper · tunneling · burrowing · groundwork · embankment · cutting · grading · pickaxe
Those with something to lose
- incumbencyHolding an official position
- gerrymanderingManipulating electoral boundaries strategically
- power consolidationConcentrating authority in one place
- oligarchyRule by few
establishment · old guard · bureaucratic · systemic · structural · corruption · cronyism · patronage
bunker
Reinforced subterranean stronghold
- foxholeMilitary defensive excavation
- earthworkConstructed soil structure
- redoubtEnclosed temporary fortification
parapet · breastwork · bastion · rampart · palisade · stockade · emplacement · strongpoint · garrison · outpost
consolidation
Combining into unified whole
- rigidityState of being unbending
- ossificationConversion to bone tissue
- fixationPersistent mental attachment
immovability · inflexibility · stubbornness · intractability · permanence · deep-rooted · ingrained · embedded · hardening · calcification
protection
Guarding against harm
- resistanceCapacity to withstand force
- bulwarkDefensive fortification or safeguard
- safeguardingPreventing harm or loss
shielding · guarding · stronghold · citadel · fortress · blockade · defensive line · perimeter · buffer · fallback position
excavation
Act of unearthing
shovel · sapper · tunneling · burrowing · groundwork · embankment · cutting · grading · pickaxe · ditchdigging
vested interests
Those with something to lose
- incumbencyHolding an official position
- gerrymanderingManipulating electoral boundaries strategically
- power consolidationConcentrating authority in one place
oligarchy · establishment · old guard · bureaucratic · systemic · structural · corruption · cronyism · patronage · special interests
- defensedefense, defending, protecting, protection, security
- fortificationsfort, fortress, fortresses, citadel, citadels
- historical warfaremusket, bayonet, cannon, flintlock, cavalry
- battle terrainhigh ground, choke point, chokepoint, ridge, hill
- closed-mindednessclosed-mindedness, close-mindedness, narrow-mindedness, inflexibility, rigidity
- constitutionsbill of rights, constitutional amendment, constitutional reform, clause, clauses
entrenchmentflexibility
Ability to adapt easily
openness · adaptability · fluidity · malleability · pliability
entrenchmentdislodgment
Removal from position
uprooting · removal · displacement · eradication · extraction
entrenchmentimpermanence
Quality of not lasting
transience · temporariness · ephemerality · instability · flux