Examples of sharpen in a Sentence
Can you sharpen the image?
The lecture sharpened my understanding of the topic.
The outlines of the mountains sharpened as we got closer.
Recent Examples on the Web
More advanced 4×4 enthusiasts can also sharpen winch skills and their acumen with safety procedures, trail navigation, and rock crawling.
—
Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
That scrutiny is starting to sharpen in the AI field.
—Laura Bratton, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
As the novel roves from Manhattan to Manchester, New Hampshire; from Los Angeles to Chicago, David, whose true ambition is to be a writer, uses his new role to sharpen his ear and eye.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
The glory days when Vivian Gornick and Ellen Willis were dissecting the gender politics of everyday life, Stanley Crouch was turning cultural polemics into a new form of jazz and James Wolcott was sharpening his all-purpose critical switchblade may have been over.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a coalition crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, an intractable battle at the heart of the state’s identity that has been sharpened by the country’s personnel needs during the war with Hamas.
—Loveday Morris, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Putting Optimism Into Action There are many tactics SMBs can leverage to maximize growth opportunities this year—from hiring top talent, to adopting game-changing tech, sharpening business operations and expanding access to capital.
—Eyal Lifshitz, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
But here the tale being told is not wistful but dynamic, its nostalgia sharpened with hard-knock realities, and its sentimentality offset with humor, snap and darkness.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024
Even the green salad, a glorious mess of pink and green chicories, is potently sharpened with plenty of cheese.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2024
Michael Van Runkle, Robb Report, 3 Apr. 2024
That scrutiny is starting to sharpen in the AI field.
—Laura Bratton, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
As the novel roves from Manhattan to Manchester, New Hampshire; from Los Angeles to Chicago, David, whose true ambition is to be a writer, uses his new role to sharpen his ear and eye.
—Danielle Amir Jackson, The Atlantic, 26 Mar. 2024
The glory days when Vivian Gornick and Ellen Willis were dissecting the gender politics of everyday life, Stanley Crouch was turning cultural polemics into a new form of jazz and James Wolcott was sharpening his all-purpose critical switchblade may have been over.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing a coalition crisis over drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews into the military, an intractable battle at the heart of the state’s identity that has been sharpened by the country’s personnel needs during the war with Hamas.
—Loveday Morris, Washington Post, 29 Mar. 2024
Putting Optimism Into Action There are many tactics SMBs can leverage to maximize growth opportunities this year—from hiring top talent, to adopting game-changing tech, sharpening business operations and expanding access to capital.
—Eyal Lifshitz, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
But here the tale being told is not wistful but dynamic, its nostalgia sharpened with hard-knock realities, and its sentimentality offset with humor, snap and darkness.
—Frank Rizzo, Variety, 22 Mar. 2024
Even the green salad, a glorious mess of pink and green chicories, is potently sharpened with plenty of cheese.
—Helen Rosner, The New Yorker, 17 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sharpen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near sharpen
Cite this Entry
“Sharpen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sharpen. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sharpen
verb
sharp·en
ˈshär-pən 
sharpened; sharpening
ˈshärp-(ə-)niŋ
1
: to make or become sharp or sharper
sharpen a pencil
a better lens sharpened the image
pain that suddenly sharpened
2
: improve
sharpen one's skills
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