anneal
to heat (glass, earthenware, metals, etc.) to remove or prevent internal stress.
to free from internal stress by heating and gradually cooling.
to toughen or temper.
Biochemistry. to recombine (nucleic acid strands) at low temperature after separating by heat.
to fuse colors onto (a vitreous or metallic surface) by heating.
an act, instance, or product of annealing.
Origin of anneal
1Other words from anneal
- an·neal·er, noun
- un·an·nealed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use anneal in a sentence
It is a regular annealing furnace; when the heat subsides you can neither soften or bend the heart again—the iron is steel.
Alone | Marion HarlandHe took them down to the annealing chamber; and then he observed that it was "a nice warm place o'nights."
First: The heating temperature should be a dull red, which is less than the annealing heat.
Practical Mechanics for Boys | J. S. ZerbeA thick article, or one having great irregularities in thickness will need much longer annealing than one thinner or more regular.
A Handbook of Laboratory Glass-Blowing | Bernard D. BolasFor the convenience of moving it to the annealing ovens it is placed upon castors.
British Dictionary definitions for anneal
/ (əˈniːl) /
to temper or toughen (something) by heat treatment
to subject to or undergo some physical treatment, esp heating, that removes internal stress, crystal defects, and dislocations
(tr) to toughen or strengthen (the will, determination, etc)
(often foll by out) physics to disappear or cause to disappear by a rearrangement of atoms: defects anneal out at different temperatures
an act of annealing
Origin of anneal
1Derived forms of anneal
- annealer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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