harden

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑɹdn̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈhɑːdn̩/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)dən
• Hyphenation: hard‧en

From Middle English hardenen, equivalent to hard +‎ -en. Cognate with Danish hærdne (“to harden; cure”), Swedish hårdna (“to harden”), Norwegian herdne (“to harden”), Icelandic harðna (“to harden”).

harden (third-person singular simple present hardens, present participle hardening, simple past and past participle hardened)

1. (intransitive) To become hard (tough, resistant to pressure).
2. (transitive, ergative) To make something hard or harder (tough, resistant to pressure).
3. (transitive, figurative) To strengthen.
   • 2002, Jane's International Defense Review, volume 35:

     In view of the system's relatively low cost, the preferred alternative could be for the military user to avail himself of multiple base stations rather than seeking to harden the base station hardware for defense applications.

   • 2018 May 26, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian (London)‎:

     Ramos had locked Salah’s right arm and turned him, judo-style, as they lost balance going for the same ball. Television replays hardened the suspicion it was a calculated move on Ramos’s part and, when Salah landed with a hell of a thud, the damage was considerable.

4. (transitive, computing) To modify (a website or other system) to make it resistant to malicious attacks.
5. (transitive, intransitive) To become or make (a person or thing) resistant or less sensitive.

   Synonym: inure

   • KJV, Exodus 4:21

     When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

6. (intransitive, informal) To get an erection.
   • 1999 August 2, Karen Mitchell, “Files from the Feminet BBS NOVAD5.TXT 38.38 KB”, in alt.sex.stories.tg‎ (Usenet):

     He hardened as he imagined himself running his hands over her small breasts

7. (transitive, intransitive, phonology) To become or make (a consonant) more fortis; to (cause to) undergo fortition.
8. (Slavic phonology) To unpalatalize or velarize.
   • 2007, Stefan Pugh, A New Historical Grammar of the East Slavic Languages:

     Of course one needs to keep in mind the fact that *tʹ and *dʹ are hardened before *e and *i in Ukrainian and Rusyn […]

   • 2013 February 1, Philipp Strazny, Encyclopedia of Linguistics, Routledge, →ISBN, page 914:

     Belarussian preserved soft labials before vowels, hardened rʹ to r, and affricated tʹ and dʹ […]

harden (countable and uncountable, plural hardens)

1. Alternative form of hurden (“coarse linen”)

• Harned, Hendra, hander

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑrdən

harden

1. (transitive) To render hard(er), more resistant etc.; to temper metal; to steel nerves

   De geharde veteranen verbeten de pijn zonder jammeren.

   The hardened veterans bore the pain without whining.

2. (transitive) to endure, bear, stand, tolerate

• (to endure) uithouden, verdragen

harden

1. plural of harde