harden

¹

[ hahr-dn ]

verb (used with object)

1. to make hard or harder:

   to harden steel.

   Synonyms: ossify, petrify, indurate, solidify

   Antonyms: soften

2. to make pitiless or unfeeling:

   to harden one's heart.

3. to make rigid or unyielding; stiffen:

   The rigors of poverty hardened his personality.

4. to strengthen or confirm, especially with reference to character, intentions, feelings, etc.; reinforce.

   Synonyms: nerve, brace, steel, fortify

   Antonyms: weaken

5. to make hardy, robust, or capable of endurance; toughen.
6. Military. to reinforce the structure of (a military or strategic installation) to protect it from nuclear bombardment.

verb (used without object)

1. to become hard or harder.
2. to become pitiless or unfeeling.
3. to become rigid or unyielding; stiffen:

   His personality hardened over the years.

4. to become confirmed or strengthened:

   His resistance hardened.

5. to become inured or toughened:

   The troops hardened under constant fire.

6. Commerce. (of a market, prices, etc.)
   1. to cease to fluctuate; firm:

      When the speculators withdrew from the market, the prices hardened.

   2. to rise higher.

Harden

²

[ hahr-dn ]

noun

1. Sir Arthur, 1865–1940, English biochemist: Nobel Prize 1929.

harden

¹

/ ˈhɑːdən /

noun

1. a rough fabric made from hards

harden

²

/ ˈhɑːdən /

verb

1. to make or become hard or harder; freeze, stiffen, or set
2. to make or become more hardy, tough, or unfeeling
3. to make or become stronger or firmer

   they hardened defences

4. to make or become more resolute or set

   hardened in his resolve

5. intr commerce
   1. (of prices, a market, etc) to cease to fluctuate
   2. (of price) to rise higher

Other Words From

• harden·a·ble adjective
• harden·a·bili·ty noun
• over·harden verb
• pre·harden verb (used with object)
• re·harden verb
• un·harden verb (used with object)
• un·harden·a·ble adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of harden¹

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; hard, -en ¹

Example Sentences

A lot of publishers are emerging leaner and battle-hardened from the worst of the coronavirus.

From Digiday

These included battle-hardened forces from Misurata, Bashagha’s home city, which is a political and military power in its own right.

From Ozy

Like Westbrook, Harden is also 31, though his game relies far less on his athleticism.

From FiveThirtyEight

Westbrook, Harden and Gordon are, in their purest form, head-down drivers who love attacking the basket, while the latter two plus Covington and Tucker can’t be left alone behind the arc.

From FiveThirtyEight

The beetle can also breathe underwater via air pockets tucked under its hardened wings.

From Science News For Students

How great would it be if Michaela Watkins or Marcia Gay Harden was nominated for the canceled Trophy Wife?

From The Daily Beast

Harden and former SNL star Michaela Watkins mine nuanced brilliance out of what could easily be ex-wife clichés.

From The Daily Beast

In the meantime, expect attitudes to harden—and the country to remain at impasse.

From The Daily Beast

The show really jumps back and forth through time this season, flashing back to the arbitration scenes with Marcia Gay Harden.

From The Daily Beast

Fallon: This cast is so stacked with talent—Whitford, Harden, Watkins—that I expected Akerman to drown here.

From The Daily Beast

As soon as the boy begins to harden, shell care no more for him than for a block of wood.

From Project Gutenberg

Does a real revolutionist need to prepare himself, to steel his nerves and harden his body?

From Project Gutenberg

He dismissed the nurses, therefore, and endeavoured to harden himself in advance to everything that could happen.

From Project Gutenberg

You see, my son, that the human frame has brittle bones—I will harden and yet supple them like steel.

From Project Gutenberg

Reef-tackles were ready to pull earings down, but the breeze veered to the east north-east and did not harden.

From Project Gutenberg