strengthen
Part of speech: verb
Morphological type: derivation
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.
Base: strength
Affixes: -en
Inflected forms:
form: strengthens
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: strengthening
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: strengthened
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: strengthened
pos: verb
tags: past
Senses:
gloss: To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: strengthen a muscle
strengthen a wall
strengthen one's willpower
strengthen one's authority
Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest,[…]
 With powerful policy strengthen themselves.
A little hardship, and a little struggling with the rougher elements of life, will perchance but strengthen and increase his courage, and prepare him for the conflicts and struggles of after years.
The viaduct is joined to the embankment by retaining walls, which have been strengthened since they were constructed by the addition of stay bolts extending right through the embankment and fastened outside each retaining wall.
gloss: To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.[…]."
A review of addiction research, published in Trends in Cognitive Sciences, suggests mindful meditation strengthens self-control in smokers, even among those smokers who haven’t set an intention to quit.
gloss: To augment; to improve; to intensify.
pos: verb
tags: transitive
gloss: To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something)
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: 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.
A priority for the new pope will be to strengthen the church’s unity amid differing views and expectations within the institution and growing polarisation in the wider world.
gloss: To substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.)
pos: verb
tags: transitive
examples: strengthen the cause
gloss: To grow strong or stronger.
pos: verb
tags: intransitive
examples: 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: anneal
brace
build up
confirm
enstrengthen
fortify
harden
intend
indurate
invigorate
munite
nerve
nerve up
reinforce
roborate
steel
strength
strengthen
thicken
Antonyms: weaken
atrophy
debilitate
enervate
enfeeble
Related words: augment
Derived words: enstrengthen
instrengthen
nonstrengthened
prestrengthen
restrengthen
strengthenable
strengthener
strengtheningly
strengthening plaster
strengthen up
unstrengthened
unstrengthening
Translations:
lang: Dutch
word: bezielen
lang: Dutch
word: tot leven wekken
lang: Dutch
word: versterken
lang: Finnish
word: vahvistaa
lang: Finnish
word: innostaa
lang: French
word: fortifier
lang: German
word: bestärken
lang: German
word: stärken
lang: Italian
word: animare
lang: Latin
word: animo
lang: Middle English
word: strengthen
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: potàknuti
lang: Serbo-Croatian
word: osokòliti
lang: Spanish
word: animar
lang: Swahili
word: kuimarisha
lang: Turkish
word: yüreklendirmek