Meaning & use
annealing
Last updated
“annealing” is a form of “anneal”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
noununcountabletechnical
A heat treatment in which metal or glass is heated and then cooled slowly to make it softer and less brittle.
Grammar: Uncountable: annealing improves strength.
Patterns
- annealing of something
- the annealing process
Annealing makes the steel easier to bend and shape.
Slow annealing prevents glass from cracking as it cools.
The blacksmith ended with a round of annealing.
verbtransitivetechnical
The -ing form of 'anneal': heating and then slowly cooling metal or glass so it becomes tougher and easier to work.
Grammar: Takes an object: annealing the wire.
Patterns
- annealing something
She is annealing the copper before she shapes it.
They spent the afternoon annealing the glass sculptures.
Annealing the blade removed internal stress.
noununcountablebiologytechnical
In biology, the process in which two matching strands of DNA pair up with each other as they cool.
Grammar: A lab term, often used with 'primer': primer annealing.
Patterns
- primer annealing
Primer annealing is a key step in PCR.
Lowering the temperature allows annealing of the DNA strands.
The scientist adjusted the annealing temperature to improve results.
Word forms
| base form | anneal |
|---|---|
| third person singular | anneals |
| past tense | annealed |
| past participle | annealed |
| -ing form | annealing |
Common combinations
- annealing process
- The annealing process takes several hours.
- annealing temperature
- The annealing temperature was set at 60 degrees.
- annealing furnace
- The glass went into the annealing furnace overnight.
- stress-relief annealing
- Stress-relief annealing prevents warping.
- simulated annealing
- Simulated annealing is an optimization method in computing.
Synonyms and how they differ
- tempering
- Heats hardened steel to a lower temperature to reduce brittleness, whereas annealing aims for maximum softness.
- softening
- A general word for making material softer, without the slow-cooling detail of annealing.
- heat treatment
- A broad category of heating methods that includes annealing.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: annealing or annulling? annealing or tempering?
annealing vs annulling
'Annulling' means cancelling a law or marriage; it has nothing to do with heating materials.
annealing vs tempering
Tempering reduces hardness after quenching, while annealing softens the metal by slow cooling.
Practice
Why do glassmakers anneal finished glass?
Choose one answer.
Annealing relieves internal stress through slow cooling, making glass less likely to crack.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “annealing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.