hardening

[ hahr-dn-ing ]

noun

1. a material that hardens another, as an alloy added to iron to make steel.
2. the process of becoming hard or rigid.

hardening

/ ˈhɑːdənɪŋ /

noun

1. the act or process of becoming or making hard
2. a substance added to another substance or material to make it harder

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardening¹

First recorded in 1620–30; harden + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

After the 2018 shooting at Sante Fe High School, Texas allocated $100 million for schools to use on hardening measures, including metal detectors, bullet-resistant glass, and campus-wide active shooter alarm systems.

From Time

It is also a question of hardening mindsets, as China cuts itself off from the rest of the world and runs a risk of becoming a second “hermit kingdom” similar to North Korea.

From Time

A hardening study commissioned in 2007 showed Entergy that it needed to support coastal transmission lines with concrete and steel poles, rather than wood poles, the company said.

From Washington Post

As the new crust hardens, its iron-bearing minerals align with the current orientation of Earth’s magnetic field, and the hardening rocks become a new stripe in the pattern.

From Science News

The quicker the finished product gets into the hardening cabinet, the smaller the ice crystals.

From The Daily Beast

The drug halts the development of atherosclerosis, a word referring to the hardening of the arteries.

From The Daily Beast

The force of the two reacting spreads the foam through the chest cavity, hardening to apply pressure to any bleed sites.

From The Daily Beast

The hardening of an idea into a plan for a novel is a vague process and hard to describe.

From The Daily Beast

He was found at autopsy to have severe hardening of his coronary arteries.

From The Daily Beast

She saw the tightening of his lips, the hardening of his eyes, beyond which he gave no other sign that she had hit him.

From Project Gutenberg

There was in it the indefinable hardening and ageing which seemed to Boyson to have affected the whole personality.

From Project Gutenberg

She talked nearly all the way over, sobbing at times, and then hardening herself with scolding.

From Project Gutenberg

She stepped back with her mouth hardening and the gleam still in her eyes.

From Project Gutenberg

“Have my share of that money,” said Katrine, with a peculiar hardening of her face.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• crystallization