strengthening 1 of 3

adjective

as in reviving

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strengthening

2 of 3

noun

as in increase

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Dissimilar Words

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

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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

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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

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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

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5
as in stiffening
to make more harsh, uncompromising, or severe a bill was introduced to strengthen punishments for hate crimes

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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 strengthening
Noun
The rebuttal is that much of this outlay has been wasteful, blown on poor recruitment choices while other areas badly in need of strengthening have been neglected. — Conor O'Neill, New York Times, 15 Oct. 2026 During the call, the two presidents also emphasized the continuation and strengthening of bilateral and strategic cooperation between Tehran and Moscow, according to the Iranian state news agency's readout. — Frank Andrews, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026 In one of the most dramatic bouts of rapid intensification of a hurricane in the eastern Pacific Ocean on record, Hurricane Polo has exploded into a major Category 5 storm, with more strengthening expected through the day. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026 The return and strengthening of those westerly winds are part of the normal seasonal development of the vortex. — Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 22 Sep. 2026 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 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
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 Yeomans says the approach can work for a range of concerns, including oiliness, dullness, frizz and weak hair that needs strengthening. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Miami Herald, 17 Oct. 2026 Companies appearing on the Norrsken/100 included those working on overhauling and strengthening grid capacity and transforming renewables storage. — Sophie Dembinski, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026 MOMCare consists of eight 50-minute sessions focused on building interpersonal skills, reducing conflict and strengthening social support. — Catherine Demers, The Conversation, 16 Oct. 2026 Tehran is reportedly strengthening its defenses around sensitive energy and nuclear sites in preparation for a potential resumption of attacks, according to The Wall Street Journal. — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026 This was on top of cutting the cost of doing business, and strengthening supply chains. — Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 12 Oct. 2026 The networks learn to recognize patterns by strengthening and weakening connections between nodes in response to training data. — Quanta Magazine, 12 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for strengthening
  1. conditioning
  2. increase
  3. hardening
  4. fortifying
  5. deepening
  6. bracing
  7. stiffening
  8. stimulating
Adjective
  • Cayenne owners will be able to track charging via their My Porsche app and are able to create pre-conditioning settings to meet their individual needs.
    — Eileen Falkenberg-Hull, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Dyson also claims that the Omega nourishing collection delivers up to 94 percent stronger hair, compared to using non-conditioning shampoo on straight hair.
    — Tianwei Zhang, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of conditioning
Noun
  • The third such increase went into effect this month, but this time there was no such rush.
    — Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The result is a modest but welcome increase in output, which climbs from 370 hp to 388 hp, while torque remains unchanged at 331 ft lbs.
    — Bradley Iger, Robb Report, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of increase
Verb
  • The result, DiStefano said, is homeowners who spend tens of thousands of dollars hardening their houses and still get non-renewed.
    — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Allen says homeowners who spend money hardening their properties, including making homes more resistant to wildfires, should receive meaningful benefits from insurers for lowering their risk.
    — Kenny Choi, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of hardening
Verb
  • City officials have been frantically preparing for Rachel, building sand berms and fortifying vulnerable areas with sandbags.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • CISOs invested billions of dollars fortifying corporate inboxes with secure email gateways (SEGs), enforcing strict DMARC policies and conducting continuous phishing simulations for employees.
    — Firas Azmeh, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of fortifying
Verb
  • There are indications that some of the Central Asian nations present, all of which are post-Soviet states, are deepening diplomatic and economic links with Washington.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Rahman’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party took power following the popular ouster in 2024 of autocratic former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, whom India granted sanctuary, deepening the rift between the neighbors.
    — Charlie Campbell, Time, 20 Oct. 2026
Definition of deepening
Verb
  • Investors are bracing for the Federal Reserve to again hike interest rates after the Labor Department said Wednesday that consumer prices rose more in September than economists had expected.
    — Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 14 Oct. 2026
  • And for months, Hollywood has been bracing itself for the inevitable thousands of layoffs that will come out of the Skydance merger.
    — Eric Vilas-Boas, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of bracing
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
Adjective
  • Those who understand quickly move forward, while those who need more time, a different explanation or a less stimulating environment can easily fall behind.
    — Irma Davarashvili, Forbes.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • These adaptogenics also cost as much, if not more, than alcoholic spirits, such as Three Spirit, which incorporates ingredients such as guayusa (stimulating effects), damiana (aphrodisiac effects) and valerian (stress-relieving effects).
    — Esther Tseng, Bon Appetit Magazine, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of stimulating

Browse Nearby Words

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Cite this Entry

“Strengthening.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/strengthening. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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