as in to harden
to make stronger (as through hardship)
She was annealed by the tragedies of her childhood.
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Recent Examples of anneal
Workable quantum solutions that make use of annealing systems are now in use.
—
Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
These services provide access to advanced quantum computing technologies, including annealing quantum computers with over 5,000 qubits and quantum-classical hybrid solvers capable of tackling complex problems involving up to one million variables.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Quantum annealing: This term is borrowed from annealing, a process that uses heat to alter the physical or chemical properties of a metal, glass, or plastic film to increase ductility and reduce hardness.
—Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2024
In this instance, after annealing, nanoplastic molecules are physically bound together with the molecules of tetracycline.
—Joe Salas, New Atlas, 3 Nov. 2024
Kaveh was certainly born a good person, but his overwhelming personal grace and the power of his art were annealed into their pure form by the white-hot fire of his addiction.
—Lauren Groff, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
Bound wafers and chips are then heated slowly (a process called annealing) to form stronger chemical bonds.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
And researchers from Applied Materials presented progress on a method to radically reduce the time needed for annealing—from hours to just 5 minutes.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
For applications requiring a more pure silica glass, the residual organics can be removed by annealing the structures at 900° Celsius (1,652° F)—an extra step, granted, but at a much lower temperature than the usual extra sintering step.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 7 July 2023
Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
These services provide access to advanced quantum computing technologies, including annealing quantum computers with over 5,000 qubits and quantum-classical hybrid solvers capable of tackling complex problems involving up to one million variables.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Quantum annealing: This term is borrowed from annealing, a process that uses heat to alter the physical or chemical properties of a metal, glass, or plastic film to increase ductility and reduce hardness.
—Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2024
In this instance, after annealing, nanoplastic molecules are physically bound together with the molecules of tetracycline.
—Joe Salas, New Atlas, 3 Nov. 2024
Kaveh was certainly born a good person, but his overwhelming personal grace and the power of his art were annealed into their pure form by the white-hot fire of his addiction.
—Lauren Groff, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
Bound wafers and chips are then heated slowly (a process called annealing) to form stronger chemical bonds.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
And researchers from Applied Materials presented progress on a method to radically reduce the time needed for annealing—from hours to just 5 minutes.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
For applications requiring a more pure silica glass, the residual organics can be removed by annealing the structures at 900° Celsius (1,652° F)—an extra step, granted, but at a much lower temperature than the usual extra sintering step.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 7 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anneal
Verb
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And then, as if he’s already relived the moment in question and arrived at the same, grim decision, Joel’s expression hardens.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
13 Apr. 2025
-
Farmers say their forebears initially enjoyed super yields, but the soil has hardened over time, and yields have plummeted, leading to more chemical use.—
Brooke Roberts-Islam,
Forbes.com,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
This experience strengthened my conviction in the impact of upskilling, talent development and strategic collaborations across industry, academia, nonprofits and government.—
Jay Garcia,
Forbes.com,
21 Apr. 2025
-
Several bridges in western Poland have been strengthened in recent years to accommodate heavy military loads.—
Barry R. Posen,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
Because the people in charge didn’t pick the right players, and didn’t draft well enough with the leftover picks to fortify the roster.—
Omar Kelly,
Miami Herald,
20 Apr. 2025
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But all that has only fortified a character who went from hapless brother-in-law to inarguably the most evolved one of the bunch.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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In a story of how deep trauma can be tempered by kindness and resilience, these children carried on.—
Jessica Gelt,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2025
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The state will release its own ZEV sales update at the end of the month, but regulators sought to temper the report’s numbers.—
Nicole Nixon,
Sacbee.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Verb
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As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
19 Apr. 2025
-
The results reinforce the idea that regeneration of major body parts requires the re-establishment of the signals that lay out organization of the embryo in development—something that gets complicated if those signals are currently acting to organize the embryo.—
John Timmer,
ArsTechnica,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Anneal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anneal. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
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