strengthen
[ strengk-thuhn, streng-, stren- ]
/ ˈstrɛŋk θən, ˈstrɛŋ-, ˈstrɛn- /
verb (used with object)
to make stronger; give strength to.
Phonetics. to change (a speech sound) to an articulation requiring more effort, as from fricative to stop or nongeminate to geminate.
verb (used without object)
to gain strength; grow stronger.
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RELATED WORDS
clamp, splint, mainstay, buttress, column, truss, assistance, stanchion, stay, underpinning, shore, aid, post, strut, brace, cordial, pick-me-up, drug, restorative, pickup
Nearby words
strega, streicher, streisand, strelitzia, strength, strengthen, strengthless, strengthlessly, strenuosity, strenuous, strenuously
Origin of strengthen
SYNONYMS FOR strengthen
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for strengthener
Indirectly Attila was the strengthener of the Papacy, and the founder of Venice.
By strengthening their souls to do right; hence called the Comforter or Strengthener.
The Quiver 3/1900|AnonymousThis Metheglin is a great Balsom and strengthener of the Viscera; is excellent in colds and coughs and consumptions.
The Closet of Sir Kenelm Digby Knight Opened|Kenelm DigbyAn advantage this, a strengthener of love, in which even the conjugal tie is beneath the fraternal.
Mansfield Park|Jane Austen
British Dictionary definitions for strengthener
strengthen
/ (ˈstrɛŋθən) /
verb
to make or become stronger
Derived Formsstrengthener, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for strengthener
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper