fighting spirit

Noun

fighting spirit (countable and uncountable, plural fighting spirits)

1. confidence, courage and resolve expressed as a zeal to fight, struggle, or contend
   • The gallantry and aggressive fighting spirit of the Russian soldiers command the American army's admiration.General George C. Marshall, statement in the official press release accompanying the U.S. War Department's release of the famous 1943 documentary "The Battle of Russia", which was part of Frank...
   • Psychologically, you have to have confidence in yourself... It's just you and your opponent at the board and you're trying to prove something. Chess is war over the board. The object is to crush the opponent's mind... You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances....Chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer, Interview with Ralph Ginzburg Harper's Magazine.January 1962 issue
2. (idiomatic) One's willpower or ability to continue partaking in difficult activities or to continue fighting against insurmountable odds.
   • This feeling I get, of worthlessness, complete inadequacy; I am my own worst enemy, and noone has ever made me feel less than I am, and noone can ever make me feel more whole than I can...myfighting spirit refuses to give up.Sayed Hamid Fatimi, The Philosophy of Reason