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harden

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(härd′'n)

transitive verb

to make solid, rigid, or firm
to make callous: to harden one's heart
to accustom to varying or adverse conditions or climate

Origin: ME hardnen < ON harthna & < ME hard, hard

intransitive verb

to become solid, rigid, callous, etc.

See harden in American Heritage Dictionary 4

verb hard·ened, hard·en·ing, hard·ens

verb, transitive

To make hard or harder.
To enable to withstand physical or mental hardship.
To make unfeeling, unsympathetic, or callous: “To love love and not its meaning hardens the heart in monstrous ways” (Archibald MacLeish).
To make sharp, as in outline.
To protect (nuclear weapons) by surrounding with earth or concrete.

verb, intransitive

To become hard or harder.
To rise and become stable. Used of prices.
To become inured.

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