harden

[ hahr-dn ]

/ ˈhɑr dn /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR harden ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to make hard or harder: to harden steel.

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.

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)

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.

Words nearby harden

hardboot, hardbound, hardcore, hardcover, hardecanute, harden, harden off, harden one's heart, harden up, hardenberg, hardenbergia

Origin of harden

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; see origin at hard, -en¹

SYNONYMS FOR harden

1 solidify, indurate; petrify, ossify.

4 fortify, steel, brace, nerve.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR harden ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR harden

1 soften.

4 weaken.

SEE ANTONYMS FOR harden ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM harden

hard·en·a·ble, adjectivehard·en·a·bil·i·ty, nouno·ver·hard·en, verbpre·hard·en, verb (used with object)

re·hard·en, verbun·hard·en, verb (used with object)un·hard·en·a·ble, adjective

Definition for harden (2 of 2)

Harden

[ hahr-dn ]

/ ˈhɑr dn /

noun

Sir Arthur,1865–1940, English biochemist: Nobel Prize 1929.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Examples from the Web for harden

Harden and former SNL star Michaela Watkins mine nuanced brilliance out of what could easily be ex-wife clichés.
These 5 ‘On the Bubble’ TV Shows Shouldn’t Be Canceled|Kevin Fallon|April 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the meantime, expect attitudes to harden—and the country to remain at impasse.
Grenade Attack Hits Downtown Bangkok|Lennox Samuels|January 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Fallon: This cast is so stacked with talent—Whitford, Harden, Watkins—that I expected Akerman to drown here.
Fall-Winter TV Preview: Snap Judgments of 2013–14’s New Shows|Jace Lacob, Kevin Fallon|July 16, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Elsewhere, outside cash may have served only to harden voters' partisan allegiances.
Does Big Money Buy Elections? Sometimes, But Not for Linda McMahon|Matthew DeLuca|November 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Harden apparently found this lecture so unbearable that he skipped out halfway through.
Yale Classmates Say Nathan Harden Gets Yale and Sex All Wrong|Kathryn Olivarius, Claire Gordon|August 24, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Pile on glass or other pretty dish, set in cold place to harden.
The Laurel Health Cookery|Evora Bucknum Perkins
The word itself does not mean to "harden," but to put into some intermediate state.
Practical Mechanics for Boys|J. S. Zerbe
All spirit must rise victorious over form; and the form must die lest it harden to stone around the growing life.
Miracles of Our Lord|George MacDonald
Indeed, the pleadings and arguments for the Constitution seemed only to harden the feeling of those opposed to it.
The Life of John Marshall (Volume 1 of 4)|Albert J. Beveridge
How did the Indian civilizations of the New World learn to harden gold into a useable point for a cutting weapon?
The Time Traders|Andre Norton

British Dictionary definitions for harden (1 of 2)

harden¹

/ (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 firmerthey hardened defences

to make or become more resolute or sethardened in his resolve

(intr) commerce

(of prices, a market, etc) to cease to fluctuate
(of price) to rise higher

British Dictionary definitions for harden (2 of 2)

harden²

/ (ˈhɑːdən) /

noun

a rough fabric made from hards

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

harden

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

Words related to harden

Words nearby harden

Origin of harden

SYNONYMS FOR harden

ANTONYMS FOR harden

OTHER WORDS FROM harden

Definition for harden (2 of 2)

noun

Examples from the Web for harden

British Dictionary definitions for harden (1 of 2)

verb

British Dictionary definitions for harden (2 of 2)

noun