1
as in to harden
to increase the ability of (as a muscle) to exert physical force
lifting weights every day will eventually strengthen your muscles the army makes new recruits run for miles in order to strengthen them
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to fortify
to make able to withstand physical hardship, strain, or exposure
required weeks of physical therapy to strengthen his arm enough to pitch for the team again
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3
as in to enhance
to make markedly greater in measure or degree
encouraged the boarding school students to strengthen their ties with the community by doing public service
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4
as in to brace
to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally
strengthened herself for the moment she'd have to tell her friend that she had lost the borrowed necklace
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of strengthen
That mindset has shaped not only her business model but her personal mission to strengthen the workforce from the ground up.
—
Jason Phillips, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
History is also full of examples of women making groundbreaking contributions that have strengthened the military.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
By developing crops that can thrive under stress and with fewer inputs, Avalo’s technology not only boosts productivity but also strengthens the resilience of agricultural systems facing climate volatility.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
The strategy was aimed at strengthening the brand’s relationship with its customers, as chief executive officer Zaccheo Manzoni told WWD at the time.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strengthen
Jason Phillips, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
History is also full of examples of women making groundbreaking contributions that have strengthened the military.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Nov. 2025
By developing crops that can thrive under stress and with fewer inputs, Avalo’s technology not only boosts productivity but also strengthens the resilience of agricultural systems facing climate volatility.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 3 Nov. 2025
The strategy was aimed at strengthening the brand’s relationship with its customers, as chief executive officer Zaccheo Manzoni told WWD at the time.
—Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 3 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for strengthen
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strengthen
Verb
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In the wake of those bills, the far-right Tea Party movement helped harden Republican opposition to Obama and Democrats more broadly, and Democrats saw major losses in the 2010 midterm elections that relegated Democrats to the minority and ended Pelosi's first run as speaker.—
NPR,
NPR,
6 Nov. 2025
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Soft power that hardens into partnerships, pipelines, and actual policy shifts.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Since then, Xi has sought to fortify Chinese industry titans, including Huawei, China Rare Earths Group, and EV maker BYD.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
4 Nov. 2025
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For example, state parties now get major influxes of cash, to the tune of a million dollars a month, to hire staff, set up programs, and fortify their ranks.—
Brittany Shepherd,
ABC News,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Since 2019, California has partnered with jurisdictions in 28 countries—touching more than a quarter of the world’s population, with a combined GDP in the tens of trillions of dollars—to cut greenhouse gases, enhance climate resilience and develop clean energy.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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The stretchy cuffs help lock in heat, while the palm side has grip-enhancing rubber details.—
Nicol Natale,
PEOPLE,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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From the start, her campaign braced for a tough final push; no less than Barack Obama is heading to the state in the final days to pitch in.—
Philip Elliott,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
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In a culture where Hollywood creators worry about an AI takeover while a video-watching citizenry braces itself for a wave of synthetic media from Sora 2 and others, an AI commercial at this level is no small thing.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The light stiffens and grabs hold of us.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
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In real materials, large angles that could create bigger matrix weights also stiffen the input path, reducing motion at the output.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
2 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The buttons control the cooking modes, temperature setting (up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit), and cook time, which can also be conveniently adjusted using the dial.—
Alicia Geigel,
Southern Living,
7 Nov. 2025
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Since the advent of the transfer portal and the rise of name, image and likeness (NIL), there have been countless debates about how to create and adjust a system to establish guardrails when necessary.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Violence has intensified, humanitarian aid remains blocked, and political prisoners, including my mother, remain behind bars.—
Kim Aris,
Time,
7 Nov. 2025
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Yet even among a number of Christians seeking to raise awareness and intensify efforts to put an end to systematic abuses committed by Boko Haram and other jihadi movements, the prospect of foreign intervention raises serious concerns.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The program aims to bolster student nutrition in a year when federal nutrition programs were transitioned to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, the governor's office said.—
Cristina LaRue,
Arkansas Online,
7 Nov. 2025
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China has undertaken a massive expansion of sites linked to missile production since 2020, bolstering its ability to potentially deter the US military and assert its dominance in the region, a new CNN analysis of satellite images, maps and government notices reveals.—
Tamara Qiblawi,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Strengthen.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strengthen. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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