as in armed
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1
as in inspired
to fill with courage or strength of purpose
hoped that his inspirational talk would steel the youths in the pursuit of their dreams
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2
as in strengthened
to make able to withstand physical hardship, strain, or exposure
years of running a farm had steeled the hard-bitten woman
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3
as in braced
to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally
he had spent the previous night steeling himself for the moment when he would demand a raise
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Recent Examples of steeled
Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2026
Resolve suddenly became steeled.
—CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
For decades, humankind steeled itself for the rise of thinking machines.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Players typically don’t call their head coach in early summer with good news, so Journell steeled himself.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
The lawyer steeled himself for the next 90 minutes.
—Sarah Weinman, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2025
Few coaches know that better than Mike Vrabel, who steeled his team ahead of what many expected to be a toss-up game.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
His sacrifice has steeled our resolve, redoubled our commitment and only increased our determination to save America at this critical turning point.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Kyiv is also on a full war footing, with its government and population steeled against the damage and human losses that come with a major conflict.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
Some of it is gut feeling based the maniacal want Cristobal has steeled in his players.
—Miami Herald, 15 Jan. 2026
Resolve suddenly became steeled.
—CBS News, 14 Jan. 2026
For decades, humankind steeled itself for the rise of thinking machines.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 11 Dec. 2025
Players typically don’t call their head coach in early summer with good news, so Journell steeled himself.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 15 Nov. 2025
The lawyer steeled himself for the next 90 minutes.
—Sarah Weinman, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2025
Few coaches know that better than Mike Vrabel, who steeled his team ahead of what many expected to be a toss-up game.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 16 Sep. 2025
His sacrifice has steeled our resolve, redoubled our commitment and only increased our determination to save America at this critical turning point.
—Dan Gooding, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 Sep. 2025
Kyiv is also on a full war footing, with its government and population steeled against the damage and human losses that come with a major conflict.
—David Brennan, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for steeled
Adjective
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In the first five minutes, Leeds had several moments of threat down their left side, with Abbott actually doing well — albeit armed with a big chunk of luck — to deflect a Gabriel Gudmundsson cross over his own bar.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
7 Feb. 2026
-
The indictment accuses Al-Bakoush of being part of the armed group that traveled to the mission.—
ERIC TUCKER,
Arkansas Online,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The final week of the summer season, Louisville Ballet returns for a 10th season to present an original dancepiece from choreographer Roger Creel, inspired by Shakespeare.—
Kirby Adams,
Louisville Courier Journal,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Alyssa Firkus, Director of Education for the Lake County Forest Preserves, said the exhibit on pollinators was inspired when one of their exhibit designers learned about The Bee Collective of Columbus, Ohio, which creates art related to bees, in addition to educating on pollinators.—
Myrna Petlicki,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Feb. 2026
Verb
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These traces of self-sufficiency only strengthened the couple’s determination to preserve the site’s history.—
Abby Montanez,
Robb Report,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Gabe’s path into financial planning took shape through varied experiences that strengthened his understanding of complex systems and real-world decision-making.—
Wyles Daniel,
USA Today,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
For Europe, Forest are braced for the possibility of sanctions from UEFA for breaching its financial regulations, although that is yet to be confirmed.—
Paul Taylor,
New York Times,
4 Feb. 2026
-
Areas typically not accustomed to frigid temperatures and snowfall braced the frigid blast and, in some cases, made the best of it.—
James Powel,
USA Today,
3 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Vitamin D, which is produced when sunlight hits your skin, can also be found in mushrooms, egg yolks, fatty fish as well as many fortified milk, non-dairy milk alternatives and yogurt.—
Andrea Kane,
CNN Money,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Moscow wants Kyiv to pull its troops out of all of the eastern Donetsk region, including a belt of heavily fortified cities regarded as one of Ukraine’s strongest defences, as a precondition for any deal.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
4 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Schwartz encouraged the public to be active participants in community science.—
Karen Garcia,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Organizers encouraged people to join to stand together in love, peace and prayer.—
Laurie Perez,
CBS News,
8 Feb. 2026
Verb
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But by the time of Pretti’s killing – and with public anger rising – the tone of state officials hardened, promising a serious inquiry, whatever the challenges.—
Andy Rose,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
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For years, this unspoken truth has hardened her, shaping her into a woman of precision and emotional distance — a mother who learned survival through silence.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Steeled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/steeled. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.
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