strengthen - Wiktionary, the free dictionary (original) (raw)

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

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.

strengthen (third-person singular simple present strengthens, present participle strengthening, simple past and past participle strengthened)

  1. (transitive) 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
    strengthen one's authority
    • c. 1596–1599 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Second Part of Henry the Fourth, […]. Epilogue.”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →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 policy strengthen 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 but strengthen and increase his courage, and prepare him for the conflicts and struggles of after years.
    • 1952 July, W. R. Watson, “Sankey Viaduct and Embankment”, in Railway Magazine, page 487:
      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.
  2. (transitive) To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten.
    • 1831, Nat Turner, The Confessions of Nat Turner:
      my father and mother strengthened me in this my first impression, saying in my presence, I was intended for some great purpose
    • 1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The 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 is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. […]."
    • 2015 July 31, Liza Lucas, “How to beat smoking, other bad habits with better self-control”, in CNN‎[2]:
      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.
  3. (transitive) To augment; to improve; to intensify.
  4. (transitive) To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something)
    strengthen an army
    • 1958 June, “First Battery Railcars on B.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 419:
      Each half-section of the battery weighs about eight tons, and the two underframes had to be strengthened to take this weight.
    • 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”, in CNN‎[3]:
      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.
    • 2025 May 8, Angela Giuffrida and Harriet Sherwood, “White smoke from Sistine Chapel chimney signals election of new pope”, in The Guardian‎[4]:
      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.
  5. (transitive) To substantiate; to corroborate (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

to make strong or stronger

to grow strong or stronger

From strengthe +‎ -en (infinitival suffix).

strengthen

  1. to strengthen, fortify (increase the strength of)
  2. to empower, to augment (increase the potency or severity of)
  3. to enhearten, to encourage (increase the morale of)
  4. to assist, to support (someone or something)
  5. to substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.)
  6. to approve or validate (a document).
  7. to endeavour; to rouse oneself.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

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