toughen

[ tuhf-uhn ]

See synonyms for toughen on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with or without object)

to make or become tough or tougher.

Origin of toughen

First recorded in 1575–85; tough + -en¹

Other words for toughen

harden, firm, strengthen, stiffen

See synonyms for toughen on Thesaurus.com

Other words from toughen

tough·en·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use toughen in a sentence

There are some exceptions to this, however; green corn is one of them; salt yellows and toughens it.
The Library of Work and Play: Housekeeping | Elizabeth Hale Gilman
It is supposed that the oil works into the pores of the hot glass, and thus toughens it.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I | Arnold Cooley
Never salt it before the meat is tender (as that hardens and toughens the meat), especially if the meat is to be eaten.
The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) | Mrs. F.L. Gillette
Their life in the open, with plenty of exercise and hard work, toughens fibre and strengthens the body to resist disease.
Society | Henry Kalloch Rowe
Intense heat hardens and toughens meat, while a soft moist heat softens the fiber.
The Kitchen Encyclopedia | Anonymous

British Dictionary definitions for toughen

toughen

/ (ˈtʌfən) /

verb

to make or become tough or tougher

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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