harden
verb (used with object)
to make hard or harder.
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harden
1 American
[hahr-dn]
/ ˈhɑr dn /
verb (used with object)
-
hardens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hardened,
past participle, past
-
hardening
present participle
-
to make hard or harder.
to harden steel.
- Antonyms:
- soften
-
to make pitiless or unfeeling.
to harden one's heart.
-
to make rigid or unyielding; stiffen.
The rigors of poverty hardened his personality.
-
to strengthen or confirm, especially with reference to character, intentions, feelings, etc.; reinforce.
- Antonyms:
- weaken
-
to make hardy, robust, or capable of endurance; toughen.
-
Military. to reinforce the structure of (a military or strategic installation) to protect it from nuclear bombardment.
verb (used without object)
-
hardens,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hardened,
past participle, past
-
hardening
present participle
-
to become hard or harder.
-
to become pitiless or unfeeling.
-
to become rigid or unyielding; stiffen.
His personality hardened over the years.
-
to become confirmed or strengthened.
His resistance hardened.
-
to become inured or toughened.
The troops hardened under constant fire.
-
Commerce. (of a market, prices, etc.)
-
to cease to fluctuate; firm.
When the speculators withdrew from the market, the prices hardened.
-
to rise higher.
-
Harden
2
American
[hahr-dn]
/ ˈhɑr dn /
noun
harden
1
British
/ ˈhɑːdən /
verb
-
to make or become hard or harder; freeze, stiffen, or set
-
to make or become more hardy, tough, or unfeeling
-
to make or become stronger or firmer
they hardened defences
-
to make or become more resolute or set
hardened in his resolve
-
(intr) commerce
-
(of prices, a market, etc) to cease to fluctuate
-
(of price) to rise higher
-
harden
2
British
/ ˈhɑːdən /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
hardenabilitynoun
-
overhardenverb
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rehardenverb
-
prehardenverb (used with object)
-
unhardenverb (used with object)
-
hardenableadjective
-
unhardenableadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hardensimple
-
hardenssimple
-
have hardenedperfect
-
has hardenedperfect
-
am hardeningprogressive
-
are hardeningprogressive
-
is hardeningprogressive
-
have been hardeningperfect progressive
-
has been hardeningperfect progressive
Past
-
hardenedsimple
-
had hardenedperfect
-
was hardeningprogressive
-
were hardeningprogressive
-
had been hardeningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of harden
Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; see origin at hard, -en 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
So an environmental review wouldn’t be required to fix an aging bridge or to harden transmission lines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
He said that evidence from a U.S. bout of high inflation in the 1970s shows that a series of shocks that raise prices can harden over time into permanently higher inflation.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026
"We may have to pace the rate of AI development to give ourselves enough time for society to harden around some of these new capability levels," Altman said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
When plaque builds up, it can harden into tartar and trigger chronic gum inflammation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
And yet, whenever his pain made him harden his heart against her and bid himself, “Milk the ewe you have; why pursue what shuns you?”
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
In the process he came under the wing of Greg Harden, a no-nonsense athletic-department counselor who advised his charges to “control the controllables” and “pay up and shut up.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
The Clippers sent 36-year-old James Harden, who was having his highest-scoring season in six years, to Cleveland in exchange for the 26-year-old Garland and a 2028 second-round selection.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
He and Harden were two of their top three scorers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Brown knew that Brunson was among the best one-on-one scorers in the NBA, and that Cleveland guard James Harden was notoriously slow-footed on defense.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
“Madam, Mrs. Harden says she has sent up the usual quantity.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
Taken together, the list of woes hardens the image of a chronically broke city whose administration often struggles to reliably provide services for its almost four million people.
From Barron's ● Sep. 15, 2026
The UK "hardens stance on Israel" is how the Guardian frames the expected announcement on Tuesday.
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
Lava flowing from a volcano eventually cools and hardens into rock, while water in a lake can freeze into ice during a cold winter.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 22, 2026
Before, Ahmad could tap — meaning to cut incisions in the acacia trees, which exude sap that a few weeks later hardens into nodules of Hashab gum — four orchards in one go.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 31, 2026
Ama hardens her stare for a second, before ushering us forward again.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Sharpton said that mattered because most voters were not hardened political activists.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
The attacks were the latest to highlight the vulnerability of even hardened targets to hackers using freely available artificial-intelligence tools.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Some of these cores at the Northern Territory Geological Survey are mudstone – a type of sedimentary rock formed from hardened seafloor mud.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 27, 2026
As a physically smaller woman, she said she found tackling some of them "intimidating", but had become more hardened to it through experience.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Instead, he remained silent, his face hardened and his jaw clenched.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
His remarks came after Washington and Tehran had issued demands for compensation over the five-month war, hardening their positions.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
"Iran's work there has likely centred around continued internal excavation and hardening of the facility that would provide further protection against aerial attacks."
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
Kirchner’s disappearance looms over what has become ground zero for a hardening resistance to the world’s hottest technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026
Horvath said the county hopes to receive tens of millions of dollars in state funding for additional brush clearance, fuel modification, home hardening and other initiatives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
They curled about his body, thickening and hardening into bark.
From "The Last Olympian" by Rick Riordan
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