harden

 
Pronunciation: /ˈhɑːd(ə)n/

verb

  • make or become hard or harder: [no object]: wait for the glue to harden [with object]: bricks which seem to have been hardened by firing
  • make or become more severe and less sympathetic: [with object]: she hardened her heart
  • make or become tougher and more clearly defined: [no object]: suspicion hardened into certainty [with object]: this served only to harden the resolve of the island nations
  • [no object] (of prices of shares, commodities, etc.) rise and remain steady at a higher level: if oil prices harden at the end of this century

Phrases

hardening of the arteries

another term for arteriosclerosis.

Phrasal Verbs

harden something off

inure a plant to cold by gradually increasing its exposure to it: the cuttings can be left in the frame until mid May, when they can be hardened off and planted out

Derivatives

hardener

noun