Meaning & use
harden
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Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
To become firm, solid, or stiff, or to make something become this way.
Grammar: Can be used without an object (the clay hardened) or with one (the sun hardened the clay).
Patterns
- harden into something
- harden something
Leave the concrete to harden for at least 24 hours.
The cold hardened the butter until it was difficult to spread.
As the lava cooled, it hardened into dark rock.
verbtransitive or intransitivefigurative
To become less kind, sympathetic, or easily influenced, or to make someone become this way.
Grammar: Often used with 'against' or 'to': she hardened her heart against him; he hardened to their pleas.
Patterns
- harden against someone
- harden to something
- harden someone's heart
Years of disappointment had hardened him to criticism.
She tried not to let the experience harden her heart.
Public opinion hardened against the proposal after the scandal.
verbtransitive
To make something stronger or more determined, especially a feeling or attitude.
Grammar: Takes an object: harden one's resolve.
Patterns
- harden one's resolve
- harden one's position
The setback only hardened their resolve to continue.
The government hardened its position on immigration.
verbtransitivemilitarycomputing
To make a place or system more protected against attack.
Grammar: Often used in military or computing contexts: harden a base, harden a network.
Patterns
- harden a target
- harden security
The base was hardened with concrete barriers and surveillance.
Companies are working to harden their networks against cyberattacks.
Word forms
| third person singular | hardens |
|---|---|
| past tense | hardened |
| past participle | hardened |
| -ing form | hardening |
Common combinations
- harden into
- The mixture will harden into a solid block overnight.
- harden one's heart
- He hardened his heart and refused to help.
- harden one's resolve
- The criticism hardened her resolve to succeed.
- harden against
- The community hardened against outsiders after the attack.
- harden the target
- Military planners want to harden the target against missile strikes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- solidify
- Solidify means to become solid, often through cooling or chemical change; harden is broader and can also mean to become stiff or unyielding.
- set
- Set is used for materials that become firm, like cement or jelly; harden is more general and can describe attitudes too.
- toughen
- Toughen means to make stronger or more resistant; harden often adds a sense of becoming rigid or less sympathetic.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: harden or hardy?
harden vs hardy
Hardy means able to survive difficult conditions, while harden means to become hard or less sympathetic.
Practice
The clay figures were left in the sun to ______.
Choose one answer.
After 'to' we need the base form 'harden' to express purpose. 'Hardened' is past tense, 'hardening' is the -ing form, and 'hardens' is third person singular, none of which fit after 'to' here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “harden”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.