strengthen
/ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/ verb
Forms strengthens strengthening strengthened
- verb (transitive) To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify. “strengthen a muscle”
- verb (transitive) To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten.
- verb (transitive) To augment; to improve; to intensify.
- verb (transitive) To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something) “strengthen an army”
- verb (transitive) To substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.) “strengthen the cause”
- verb (intransitive) To grow strong or stronger.
Synonyms
anneal brace consolidate build up confirm corroborate enstrengthen fortify harden intend indurate invigorate munite nerve nerve up reinforce roborate steel strength thicken beef up tone tone up
Antonyms
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.
Webster’s 1913
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “strengthen”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details