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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

toughen en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • /ˈtʌfən/
  • (Southern-England) audio

Etymology

From tough + -en.

Meanings

  1. (transitive) To make tough.
    • Although the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) had toughened its stance on new third rail electrification, gaining approval for short sections of third rail to charge the batteries could be more straightforward. 2025 October 29, Chris Howe, “A step closer to Liverpool dream...”, in RAIL, number 1047, page 50:
    • The new training program is designed to toughen the athletes.
    • A cold shower every morning will toughen your skin.
  2. (intransitive) To become tough.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
toughening Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
toughens Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
toughened Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
toughened Tense=Past lexicographic

Deriveds

toughen up · toughenable · toughener · untoughened · retoughen

Translations (20)

fi vahvistua (to become tougher) · fi karkaistua (to become tougher) · de versteifen (to become tougher) · fi karkaista (to make tougher) · cs ztuhnout (to become tougher) · fi koventua (to become tougher) · ga cruaigh (to make tougher) · ga cruaigh (to become tougher) · sk stuhnúť (to become tougher) · bg втвърдявам (to make tougher) · cs ztvrdnout (to become tougher) · mi whakapūioio (to make tougher) · mi whakamarohi (to make tougher) · bg втвърдявам се (to become tougher) · sk stvrdnúť (to become tougher) · ru ужесточи́ть (to make tougher) · fi vahvistaa (to make tougher) · fi koventaa (to make tougher) · mi whakapakeke (to make tougher) · ru ужесточа́ть (to make tougher)