anneal
Americanverb (used with object)
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to heat (glass, earthenware, metals, etc.) to remove or prevent internal stress.
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to free from internal stress by heating and gradually cooling.
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to toughen or temper.
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Biochemistry. to recombine (nucleic acid strands) at low temperature after separating by heat.
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to fuse colors onto (a vitreous or metallic surface) by heating.
noun
verb
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to temper or toughen (something) by heat treatment
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to subject to or undergo some physical treatment, esp heating, that removes internal stress, crystal defects, and dislocations
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(tr) to toughen or strengthen (the will, determination, etc)
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(often foll by out) physics to disappear or cause to disappear by a rearrangement of atoms
defects anneal out at different temperatures
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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annealsimple
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annealssimple
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have annealedperfect
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has annealedperfect
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are annealingprogressive
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am annealingprogressive
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is annealingprogressive
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have been annealingperfect progressive
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has been annealingperfect progressive
Past
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annealedsimple
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had annealedperfect
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was annealingprogressive
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were annealingprogressive
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had been annealingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of anneal
before 1000; Middle English anelen, Old English anǣlan to kindle, equivalent to an- on + ǣlan to burn, akin to āl fire
Explanation
When you anneal metal or glass, you heat it and then cool it in order to make it less brittle and more malleable. Metallurgists — engineers who specialize in the properties and uses of metals — have to know a variety of methods used to anneal different kinds of metals. You can also anneal glass, to make it stronger and to help keep it from shattering.
Vocabulary lists containing anneal
The Golden Goblet
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List 8
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The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
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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.
"Anneal it, and give it to me," she added.
From Marietta A Maid of Venice by Crawford, F. Marion (Francis Marion)
Anneal, an-ēl′, v.t. to temper glass or metals by subjecting them to great heat and gradual cooling: to heat in order to fix colours on, as glass.—n.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various
Anneal it properly by heating and plunging in water.
From The Boy Mechanic: Volume 1 700 Things for Boys to Do by Popular Mechanics Co.
Anneal with great care, and cool in such a position that the acid cannot reach the hot glass.
From Laboratory Manual of Glass-Blowing by Frary, Francis C. (Francis Cowles)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
