1
as in freezing
to become physically firm or solid
the glue begins to harden as soon as it is exposed to air
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2
as in strengthening
to make able to withstand physical hardship, strain, or exposure
pioneer women who had been hardened by years of living on the plains
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3
as in toughening
to increase the ability of (as a muscle) to exert physical force
arm muscles that were hardened by all the years of casting and hauling his fishing nets
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4
as in stiffening
to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe
the government hardened restrictions on travel to and from the war-torn nation
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Recent Examples of hardening
In plaster casting, the plaster is soft before hardening in the form.
—
Chadd Scott, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Radiation hardening methods work by impeding the movement of these excited electrons.
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2024
But as missions to space become more ambitious, radiation hardening techniques have had to evolve.
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2024
In the 2000s, they weren’t used as much in radiation hardening, because circuit designers could still use ordinary, bulk CMOS devices, mitigating radiation risks in their circuit design and layout, according to Hugh Barnaby, a professor of electrical engineering at Arizona State University.
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hardening 
Chadd Scott, Forbes, 16 Oct. 2024
Radiation hardening methods work by impeding the movement of these excited electrons.
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2024
But as missions to space become more ambitious, radiation hardening techniques have had to evolve.
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2024
In the 2000s, they weren’t used as much in radiation hardening, because circuit designers could still use ordinary, bulk CMOS devices, mitigating radiation risks in their circuit design and layout, according to Hugh Barnaby, a professor of electrical engineering at Arizona State University.
—IEEE Spectrum, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hardening
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Cite this Entry
“Hardening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hardening. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.
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