as in hardening
to make stronger (as through hardship)
She was annealed by the tragedies of her childhood.
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Recent Examples of annealing
The system will form the backbone of a long-term partnership between FAU and D-Wave, which provides both annealing and gate-model quantum computing platforms.
—
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
Engineers sparingly tried annealing hardware space, so Juno's experience could be instructive for future missions.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Workable quantum solutions that make use of annealing systems are now in use.
—Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
After annealing, the links are strong covalent bonds [below].
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2024
Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 28 Jan. 2026
Engineers sparingly tried annealing hardware space, so Juno's experience could be instructive for future missions.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Workable quantum solutions that make use of annealing systems are now in use.
—Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
After annealing, the links are strong covalent bonds [below].
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Aug. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for annealing
Verb
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But before transplanting, your plants will need time to adjust—this process is called hardening off.—
Madeline Buiano,
Martha Stewart,
11 Mar. 2026
-
Start hardening off plants one week before transplanting out into the garden.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The airline says the new and expanded routes reflect rising demand for Florida travel, particularly between the West Coast and Palm Beach, and reinforce its long-term commitment to strengthening connectivity in high-growth markets.—
Skyler Shepard,
Sun Sentinel,
25 Mar. 2026
-
At the invitation-only Fortune COO Summit, taking place June 1–2 in Arizona, COOs from the nation’s largest companies will come together to examine how AI and emerging technologies are reshaping operating models, strengthening resilience, and enabling faster and smarter decision-making.—
Catherina Gioino,
Fortune,
25 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The team further enhanced performance by modifying the SMP’s chemical composition and reinforcing it with carbon fibers to improve stiffness and durability.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Mar. 2026
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OpenAI is battling more than a dozen different death and harm suits, including one centered on a tragic murder-suicide allegedly spurred by ChatGPT reinforcing an unstable man’s paranoid delusions.—
Maggie Harrison Dupré,
Futurism,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Analysts noted similar activity occurred before last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer strikes, suggesting a pattern of fortifying critical facilities in anticipation of attacks.—
Sujita Sinha,
Interesting Engineering,
12 Mar. 2026
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Elevating their expertise and fortifying their decades-long involvement in the process of independent evaluation and guidance is critical to restore public trust in federal policymaking.—
Jerome Adams,
Fortune,
7 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Annealing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/annealing. Accessed 29 Mar. 2026.
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