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strengthen

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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Etymology

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From rareMiddle Englishstrengthenen (14th c.), from earlierstrengthen (12th c.), where-en is the infinitive ending. Probably the original form was reinterpreted asstrength +‎-en around the time when the infinitive ending was being apocopated in late Middle English.

Pronunciation

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Verb

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strengthen (third-person singular simple presentstrengthens,present participlestrengthening,simple past and past participlestrengthened)

  1. (transitive) To makestrong or stronger; to addstrength to; to increase the strength of; tofortify.
    strengthen a muscle
    strengthen a wall
    strengthen one's willpower
    strengthen one's authority
    • c.1596–1599 (date written),William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […].Epilogue.”, inMr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, andEd[ward] Blount, published1623,→OCLC,(please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest,[…]
      With powerful policystrengthen themselves.
    • 1851, anonymous author,Arthur Hamilton, and His Dog‎[1]:
      A little hardship, and a little struggling with the rougher elements of life, will perchance butstrengthen and increase his courage, and prepare him for the conflicts and struggles of after years.
    • 1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, inRailway Magazine, page487:
      The viaduct is joined to the embankment by retaining walls, which have beenstrengthened since they were constructed by the addition of stay bolts extending right through the embankment and fastened outside each retaining wall.
  2. (transitive) Toempower; to givemoral strength to; toencourage; toenhearten.
    • 1611,The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […],→OCLC,Deuteronomyiii:28:
      Charge Joshua, and encourage him, andstrengthen him.
    • 1831, Nat Turner,The Confessions of Nat Turner:
      my father and motherstrengthened me in this my first impression, saying in my presence, I was intended for some great purpose
    • 1910,Emerson Hough, chapter I, inThe Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.:The Bobbs-Merrill Company,→OCLC:
      "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 isstrengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. […]."
    • 2015 July 31, Liza Lucas, “How to beat smoking, other bad habits with better self-control”, inCNN‎[2]:
      A review of addiction research, published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, suggests mindful meditationstrengthens self-control in smokers, even among those smokers who haven’t set an intention to quit.
  3. (transitive) Toaugment; toimprove; tointensify.
  4. (transitive) Toreinforce, toaddto, tosupport(someone or something)
    strengthen an army
    • 2024 July 1, Chandelis Duster, “Biden and Trump touted what they’ve done for HBCUs at CNN’s debate. Here’s what their records show”, inCNN‎[3]:
      In 2019, Trump signed the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act, a bipartisan bill aimed atstrengthening HBCUs as well as other minority-serving institutions by providing $255 million annually.
    • 2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, inThe Guardian‎[4]:
      A priority for the new pope will be tostrengthen the church’s unity amid differing views and expectations within the institution and growing polarisation in the wider world.
  5. (transitive) Tosubstantiate; tocorroborate(a belief, argument, etc.)
    strengthen the cause
  6. (intransitive) To grow strong or stronger.
    • 1914, Elizabeth Robins Pennell,Our Philadelphia:
      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

Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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to make strong or stronger
to animate
to augment
to grow strong or stronger

References

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Middle English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Fromstrengthe +‎-en(infinitival suffix).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈstrɛnkθən/,/ˈstrɛnɡðən/

Verb

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strengthen

  1. tostrengthen,fortify(increase the strength of)
  2. toempower, toaugment(increase the potency or severity of)
  3. toenhearten, toencourage(increase the morale of)
  4. toassist, tosupport(someone or something)
  5. tosubstantiate; tocorroborate(a belief, argument, etc.)
  6. toapprove orvalidate(a document).
  7. toendeavour; torouse oneself.
    (Can wefind and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

Conjugation

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Conjugation ofstrengthen (weak in -ed)
infinitive(to)strengthen,strengthe
present tensepast tense
1st-personsingularstrengthestrengthed
2nd-personsingularstrengtheststrengthedest
3rd-personsingularstrengthethstrengthed
subjunctivesingularstrengthe
imperativesingular—
plural1strengthen,strengthestrengtheden,strengthede
imperativepluralstrengtheth,strengthe—
participlesstrengthynge,strengthendestrengthed,ystrengthed

1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants

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References

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