harden
verb (used with object)
to make hard or harder.
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
-
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:
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
Consumer confidence in Germany weakened a little after oil prices rose this month, and with the conflict in the Middle East continuing to escalate, households’ wariness about spending may harden in the months ahead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Artificial turf becomes intolerably hot, and the soil in natural grass can harden until it’s like playing on concrete.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
"Strategically, this will harden Abu Dhabi's view that passive defence is not enough," Krieg said.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
His eyes flew open and I saw his face harden up before he disappeared from the glass.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Of course, it’s unclear what that coda would look like, and if it involves spending a lot of time watching James Harden dribble in circles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 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
Harden had no defensive wounds on his hands or arms, and there were no marks on his hands to suggest he was the aggressor.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
“Madam, Mrs. Harden says she has sent up the usual quantity.”
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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
His voice hardens when he speaks about the leak.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
To do it, Mars blends sugar, cocoa and other ingredients into a mixture that hardens into the candy’s solid core.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 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
Director Van Helsing's face hardens at the sight of my Junior Agent badge.
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
This high-temperature firing process works somewhat like baking clay in a kiln, causing the zirconia particles to fuse together and form a dense, hardened material.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
Confidential,’” says Chhiu of the stunts in “Spider-Noir,” which follows Cage as a hardened private detective confronting the criminal underbelly of 1930s New York.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
These weapons allow the US to conduct precision strikes against hardened military targets, such as command bunkers or fortified military facilities, without putting manned aircraft in harm's way.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Finish them off with flaky sea salt, then store them in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the outer chocolate shell has hardened.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
But then I pictured my father up north in New Jersey begging for work, and the devastated look on my mother’s face, and I hardened my heart.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
“This is a huge sea change in the way that immigration detention is expanding and hardening in the United States,” she said, adding that “this was every advocate’s nightmare scenario.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 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
UV light is used for air purification, curing resins in 3D printing, hardening gels in dental fillings, and even applications such as nail treatments.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
Money has trickled through this room for years and years, as if through an underground cavern, crusting and hardening like stalactites into these forms.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
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.
