Strengthen
/ˈstɹɛŋ(k)θən/ verb
verb ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
Verb
- 1 To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify. transitive
"strengthen a muscle"
- 2 give a healthy elasticity to wordnet
- 3 To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten. transitive
"Charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him."
- 4 gain strength wordnet
- 5 To augment; to improve; to intensify. transitive
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 make strong or stronger wordnet
- 7 To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something) transitive
"strengthen an army"
- 8 To substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.) transitive
"strengthen the cause"
- 9 To grow strong or stronger. intransitive
"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"
Example
More examples"It is important to strengthen the basis."
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.