- toughen
- verb (toughened; toughening) Date: 1582 transitive verb to make tough intransitive verb to become tough
New Collegiate Dictionary. 2001.
toughen
Look at other dictionaries:
Toughen — Tough en, v. i. & t. [imp. & p. p. {Toughened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Toughening}.] To grow or make tough, or tougher. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
toughen — index inure (accustom) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
toughen — (v.) 1580s, from TOUGH (Cf. tough) (adj.) + EN (Cf. en) (1). Related: Toughened; toughening … Etymology dictionary
toughen — [v] harden acclimate, acclimatize, anneal, brutalize, climatize, develop, inure, make difficult, season, strengthen, temper; concepts 202,250 Ant. flex, soften, tenderize … New thesaurus
toughen — ► VERB ▪ make or become tough … English terms dictionary
toughen — [tuf′ən] vt., vi. to make or become tough or tougher toughener n … English World dictionary
toughen — [[t]tʌ̱f(ə)n[/t]] toughens, toughening, toughened 1) V ERG If you toughen something or if it toughens, you make it stronger so that it will not break easily. [V n] Do not add salt to beans when cooking as this tends to toughen the skins. [V ed] … English dictionary
toughen — UK [ˈtʌf(ə)n] / US verb Word forms toughen : present tense I/you/we/they toughen he/she/it toughens present participle toughening past tense toughened past participle toughened 1) [intransitive/transitive] to become more strict, or to make… … English dictionary
toughen — verb Toughen is used with these nouns as the object: ↑penalty … Collocations dictionary
toughen — tough|en [ˈtʌfən] v also toughen up [I and T] to become tougher, or to make someone or something tougher ▪ toughened glass ▪ Three years in the army toughened him up … Dictionary of contemporary English
toughen — tough|en [ tʌfn ] or ,toughen up verb 1. ) intransitive or transitive to become more strict or make something more strict: Universities are toughening up their entrance requirements. 2. ) intransitive or transitive to become mentally or… … Usage of the words and phrases in modern English
