Synonyms of strengthening

strengthening 1 of 3

adjective

as in reviving

Related Words

• reviving
• conditioning
• stimulating
• rejuvenating
• bracing
• vitalizing
• vital
• refreshing
• restorative
• tonic
• life-giving
• stimulative
• cordial
• invigorating
• therapeutic
• quickening
• beneficial
• animating
• exhilarating
• corrective
• curative
• remedial
• rectifying
• rehabilitative
• curing
• medicinal
• reformative
• reparative
• recuperative
• healthful
• reformatory
• healthy
• helpful
• salutary
• remedying
• exhilarative
• wholesome
• sharp
• salubrious

Dissimilar Words

• weakening
• draining
• debilitating
• deadening
• exhausting
• injurious
• numbing
• pernicious
• deleterious
• sapping
• enfeebling
• enervating
• wearying
• unhealthy
• noxious
• unhealthful
• unwholesome
• insalubrious

strengthening

2 of 3

noun

as in increase

Related Words

• increase
• enhancement
• amelioration
• upswing
• upturn
• heightening
• uplift
• boost
• breakthrough
• advance
• evolution
• betterment
• development
• maturation
• quantum leap
• growth
• melioration
• advancement
• expansion
• uptrend
• upgrade
• education
• refinement
• ripening
• elaboration
• revival
• enlightenment
• edification
• civilization
• renaissance
• perfection
• gestation
• innovation
• find
• discovery
• windfall
• renascence
• invention

Dissimilar Words

• collapse
• breakdown
• crash
• reduction
• decrease
• weakening
• impediment
• hindrance
• failing
• deterioration
• decline
• worsening
• stumbling block
• sinking
• decay
• lessening
• degeneration
• slowing
• lapse
• impairment
• detriment
• descent
• downgrade
• decadence
• declension
• drawback
• shortcoming
• flagging
• diminishment
• disablement
• glitch
• setback
• ebbing
• languishment

strengthening

3 of 3

verb

present participle of strengthen

1

as in hardening

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

lifting weights every day will eventually strengthen your muscles

the army makes new recruits run for miles in order to strengthen them

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hardening
• fortifying
• tempering
• toughening
• energizing
• beefing (up)
• annealing
• invigorating
• vitalizing
• firming (up)
• toning (up)
• restrengthening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• weakening
• crippling
• hurting
• debilitating
• damaging
• impairing
• injuring
• harming
• paralyzing
• undermining
• incapacitating
• enfeebling
• enervating
• breaking down
• undercutting
• wearing out
• sapping

2

as in fortifying

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

required weeks of physical therapy to strengthen his arm enough to pitch for the team again

Synonyms & Similar Words

• hardening
• fortifying
• adjusting
• reinforcing
• bolstering
• toughening
• bracing
• inuring
• adapting
• boosting
• steeling
• supporting
• seasoning
• indurating
• enforcing
• tempering
• vitalizing
• acclimating
• invigorating
• immunizing
• buttressing
• conditioning
• annealing
• acclimatizing
• training
• accustoming
• habituating
• propping (up)
• breaking in
• naturalizing
• limbering (up)
• forearming

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• softening
• weakening
• exhausting
• sapping
• crippling
• enervating
• debilitating
• incapacitating
• sensitizing
• enfeebling
• emasculating
• hamstringing

3

as in deepening

to make markedly greater in measure or degree

encouraged the boarding school students to strengthen their ties with the community by doing public service

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deepening
• enhancing
• intensifying
• heightening
• consolidating
• reinforcing
• boosting
• broadening
• expanding
• amplifying
• sharpening
• accentuating
• stepping up
• augmenting
• emphasizing
• redoubling
• magnifying
• lengthening
• extending
• enforcing
• accelerating
• beefing (up)
• maximizing
• enlarging
• supplementing
• amping (up)
• hastening
• stressing
• quickening
• pointing (up)
• restrengthening
• enlivening
• exacerbating
• aggravating
• jazzing (up)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• reducing
• decreasing
• moderating
• weakening
• diminishing
• lessening
• abating
• subduing
• waning
• dwindling
• receding
• tapering (off)
• subsiding
• alleviating
• toning (down)
• easing
• lightening
• letting up (on)

4

as in bracing

to prepare (oneself) mentally or emotionally

strengthened herself for the moment she'd have to tell her friend that she had lost the borrowed necklace

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fortifying
• bracing
• readying
• poising
• reinforcing
• steeling
• bolstering
• forearming
• nerving
• enforcing
• psyching (up)
• arming
• sustaining
• toughening
• buttressing
• hardening
• comforting
• inuring
• boosting
• encouraging
• supporting
• stirring
• inspiring
• rallying
• propping (up)
• seasoning
• rousing
• cheering (up)
• emboldening
• buoying (up)
• heartening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• shaking
• discouraging
• daunting
• undermining
• demoralizing
• disheartening
• weakening
• softening
• unnerving
• undercutting
• sapping
• debilitating
• tiring
• dispiriting
• psyching (out)
• enervating
• prostrating
• enfeebling

5

as in stiffening

to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe

a bill was introduced to strengthen punishments for hate crimes

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stiffening
• toughening
• hardening
• harshening

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• easing
• softening
• lessening
• ameliorating
• moderating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of strengthening

Noun

Regular exercise and strengthening can help reduce knee cracking caused by conditions like osteoarthritis or patellofemoral pain syndrome. — Kristen Gasnick, Verywell Health, 17 Sep. 2026

However, Anheuser-Busch Inbev's strengthening foothold in non-beer beverage categories could drive shares higher, according to Deutsche Bank. — Liz Napolitano, CNBC, 16 Sep. 2026

Some gradual strengthening was forecast over the coming days. — ABC News, 10 Sep. 2026

Some strengthening is expected during the next day or so, and the system is forecast to become a tropical storm by tonight. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026

Not all models anticipate El Niños strengthening as the climate warms, but our data shows that unusual strengthening has accompanied recent warming – an association that may allow scientists to identify models that most closely track observations. — Julia Cole, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2026

That’s in addition to the earlier dismantling of USAID (which trained social mobilizers for surveillance and active case finding) and the withdrawal from the WHO (whose technical expertise informed laboratory strengthening and data systems). — Eli Cahan, Rolling Stone, 21 Aug. 2026

Instead, Washington will help manage the program and support the strengthening of Liberia’s own immigration system. — Adrian Elimian, semafor.com, 19 Aug. 2026

These actions should be paired with measures that expand protections for the United States’ biotech innovation infrastructure, including the strengthening of a national security review process governing foreign investment in the sector. — Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall, Foreign Affairs, 18 Aug. 2026

Verb

Crews continued mopping up the fire Monday, strengthening containment lines and extinguishing hot spots at least 300 feet inside the perimeter. — Sacbee.com, 21 Sep. 2026

Spain’s Secuoya Studios has tapped Carla Gómez as head of development and executive producer for Latin America, strengthening its creative and production operations in the region. — Emiliano De Pablos, Variety, 21 Sep. 2026

In that time period, the university tasked Cheng with writing one 2,000 page report on strengthening the CSCU system. — Livi Stanford, Hartford Courant, 20 Sep. 2026

Arévalo was tasked with not only freeing a state captured by kleptocrats, but also strengthening one that was fundamentally weak. — Will Freeman, The Atlantic, 20 Sep. 2026

For the first 10 months of the two-year rotation in McLean, Virginia, the young professionals work in a key corporate area, strengthening their business, analytics, and tech skills. — Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 20 Sep. 2026

The natural climate cycle has been strengthening at a breakneck pace since it was first declared in June and is stronger now than it’s ever been on this date. — Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2026

Further strengthening the appeal of home services companies, these businesses are traditionally presented in a very fragmented market, providing investors with a unique—and valuable—opportunity for consolidation and a clear runway to scale. — Patrick Galleher, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026

Whether Russia makes mistakes or serves Russians’ quotidian interests is secondary to his project of strengthening state power in and of itself. — Michael Kimmage, Foreign Affairs, 14 Sep. 2026