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strengthen

verb
/ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/

Etymology

From rare Middle English strengthenen (14th c.), from earlier strengthen (12th c.), where -en is the infinitive ending. Probably the original form was reinterpreted as strength + -en around the time when the infinitive ending was being apocopated in late Middle English.

  1. inherited from strengthenen

Definitions

  1. To make strong or stronger

    To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify.

    • strengthen a muscle
    • strengthen a wall
    • strengthen one's willpower

  2. To empower

    To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten.

    • Charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him.
    • my father and mother strengthened me in this my first impression, saying in my presence, I was intended for some great purpose
    • "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there.[…]."

  3. To augment

    To augment; to improve; to intensify.

  4. ›+ 3 more definitions

    1. To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something)

      • strengthen an army
      • Each half-section of the battery weighs about eight tons, and the two underframes had to be strengthened to take this weight.
      • In 2019, Trump signed the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at strengthening HBCUs as well as other minority-serving institutions by providing $255 million annually.

    2. To substantiate

      To substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.)

      • strengthen the cause

    3. To grow strong or stronger.

      • my affection seems so superfluous that I often wonder why it should be so strong. But wise or foolish, there it is, strengthening with the years whether I will or no

The neighborhood

Derived

enstrengthen, instrengthen, nonstrengthened, prestrengthen, restrengthen, strengthenable, strengthener, strengtheningly, strengthening plaster, strengthen up, unstrengthened, unstrengthening

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at strengthen. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01strengthen02empower03legal04required05require06authoritatively07authority08enforce

A definitional loop anchored at strengthen. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at strengthen

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA