Synonyms of hardens

hardens

verb

present tense third-person singular of harden

1

as in freezes

to become physically firm or solid

the glue begins to harden as soon as it is exposed to air

Synonyms & Similar Words

• freezes
• stiffens
• solidifies
• congeals
• firms (up)
• concretes
• thickens
• sets
• crystallizes
• coagulates
• gels
• encrusts
• indurates
• petrifies
• gelatinizes
• calcifies
• cakes
• calluses
• ossifies
• jells
• jellies
• anneals
• clots
• tempers
• rigidifies
• gelates
• case-hardens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• softens
• liquefies
• melts
• dissolves
• thaws
• fuses
• smelts
• unfreezes
• fluxes
• deliquesces

2

as in strengthens

to make able to withstand physical hardship, strain, or exposure

pioneer women who had been hardened by years of living on the plains

Synonyms & Similar Words

• strengthens
• toughens
• fortifies
• inures
• adjusts
• steels
• adapts
• seasons
• reinforces
• bolsters
• invigorates
• indurates
• anneals
• enforces
• acclimates
• tempers
• vitalizes
• braces
• immunizes
• acclimatizes
• accustoms
• conditions
• habituates
• boosts
• buttresses
• naturalizes
• supports
• forearms
• breaks in
• props (up)
• trains
• limbers (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• softens
• weakens
• exhausts
• saps
• incapacitates
• cripples
• enfeebles
• sensitizes
• emasculates
• enervates
• debilitates
• hamstrings

3

as in toughens

to increase the ability of (as a muscle) to exert physical force

arm muscles that were hardened by all the years of casting and hauling his fishing nets

Synonyms & Similar Words

• strengthens
• toughens
• fortifies
• beefs (up)
• anneals
• tempers
• energizes
• invigorates
• firms (up)
• vitalizes
• tones (up)
• restrengthens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• weakens
• hurts
• paralyzes
• impairs
• injures
• cripples
• damages
• debilitates
• harms
• enervates
• enfeebles
• undermines
• incapacitates
• breaks down
• undercuts
• wears out
• saps

4

as in stiffens

to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe

the government hardened restrictions on travel to and from the war-torn nation

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stiffens
• strengthens
• toughens
• harshens

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• eases
• lessens
• softens
• moderates
• ameliorates

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hardens

The initially soft capsule is further processed in a specialized structure called the ventral pedal gland near the muscular foot of the whelk, which cross-links the capsule proteins and hardens the structure before it is laid. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Mar. 2026

Gulf’s stance hardens There have been strong signs that the Gulf’s collective patience has been wearing thin. —Holly Ellyatt,emma Graham, CNBC, 26 Mar. 2026

His turn into villainy is trickier, yet Gosling hardens his voice and his gaze and successfully spars with the murderer’s row of Giamatti, Clooney, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026

The glue slowly hardens, giving surgeons time to position the flap. —Jolene Edgar, Allure, 16 Mar. 2026

But history suggests that war hardens political systems and entrenches dictatorships. —Alex Shams, Time, 14 Mar. 2026

But there is a troubling shift that occurs when success hardens into excess and gives way to fear, a paradox that emerges all too often. —Michael Sonnenfeldt, Fortune, 12 Mar. 2026

Lee Harvey Oswald folding under Jack Ruby’s bullet—a split second that hardens into our collective memory. —Christopher Anderson, Vanity Fair, 27 Feb. 2026

The snow eventually hardens like a concrete entombment. —Ray Sanchez, CNN Money, 21 Feb. 2026