HARDEN Synonyms: 100 Similar and Opposite Words

harden

verb

ˈhär-dᵊn

Definition of harden

as in to freeze

to become physically firm or solid the glue begins to harden as soon as it is exposed to air

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to strengthen

to make able to withstand physical hardship, strain, or exposure pioneer women who had been hardened by years of living on the plains

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to toughen

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in to stiffen

to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe the government hardened restrictions on travel to and from the war-torn nation

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of harden Mohsen Rezaei was named this month as part of senior appointments widely seen as hardening Tehran's political and military stance. — Arkansas Online, 23 Aug. 2026 Use a damp, soapy cloth to wipe any oil off the cabinets right away to keep it from hardening and prevent sticky surfaces. — Karen Brewer Grossman, Southern Living, 23 Aug. 2026 Institutional indifference and erasure Fast forward to today, and that defensive posture has hardened into absolute institutional erasure. — Kimmie Gordon, Chicago Tribune, 22 Aug. 2026 Khalid, the eldest son, then in his early twenties, hardened under the pressure to take care of his family. — Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for harden

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harden

Verb

Additionally, the Department of Education froze more than $250 million in federal funds to HSIs last fall.

— Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Spain is paying for its women's soccer players to freeze their eggs.

— Emma Hinchliffe, Fortune, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of freeze

Verb

Designed for limp, oily, and dull hair, the color-safe formula washes away stubborn dirt and grime—common culprits of flat waves—while a lineup of amino acids work to soften and strengthen strands.

— Madison San Miguel, Allure, 5 Sep. 2026
If superconductivity in magic-angle graphene were primarily driven by phonons, or vibrations of the atomic lattice, weakening Coulomb interactions would be expected to leave the effect largely unchanged or even strengthen it slightly.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of strengthen

Verb

Bile rose in Evie’s throat and her body stiffened under his touch.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Offering a 35% incentive aimed at stiffening up jobs here and enticing post-production to relocate to the Golden State, AB 2319 is racing toward a vote in the state Senate by next week once the bill is in final shape.

— Dominic Patten, Deadline, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of stiffen

Browse Nearby Words

hard-edged

harden

hardened

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Style

“Harden.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harden. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of harden

verb

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