harshening

verb

present participle of harshen
as in strengthening
to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe recent changes to the drunk driving laws harshen penalties for repeat offenders

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for harshening
  1. strengthening
  2. stiffening
Verb
  • The Bills are also coming off a Monday night overtime game, strengthening the home underdog’s case.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Florida is living proof that protecting the preborn and strengthening families is both possible and popular.
    — Kimberly Bird, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of strengthening
Verb
  • Proposition 132 attempts to address these concerns by stiffening legal penalties.
    — Joshua Barocas, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026
  • But one of the positives Glenn highlighted was the defense stiffening in the red zone against Chicago, which went 2 of 7 inside the New York 20-yard line.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of stiffening
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.

Browse Nearby Words

harshened
harshening
harshens
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Cite this Entry

“Harshening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/harshening. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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