Word family noun hardship hardness hardiness adjective hard hardened hardy verb harden adverb hard hardly
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhardenhard‧en /ˈhɑːdn $ ˈhɑːrdn/ ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive] 1 HARDto become firm or stiff, or to make something firm or stiff OPP soften It will take about 24 hours for the glue to harden.2 STRICTif your attitude hardens, or if something hardens it, you become more strict and determined and less sympathetic OPP soften Attitudes towards the terrorists have hardened even more since the attack.3 written if your face or voice hardens, or if something hardens it, you look or sound less sympathetic or happy OPP soften His face hardened momentarily, then he looked away.4 → harden your heart→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
harden• Kiki thought about these things as she was lying naked in her bed wishing the fudge would harden.• Pores enlarge and the skin slowly becomes coarser, as its natural collagen hardens.• The glue needs about 24 hours to harden.• Isobel glanced at her husband, and saw his face had hardened, and that his eyes were angry.• The clay needs to harden before it can be painted.• The ground was hardened by a sharp frost making the going firm on a fine, sunny day.• Steel is hardened by heating it to a very high temperature.• When Glover folded back the blanket her expression hardened, her face became the fixed eyes and mouth of a hawk.• The girl had hardened her heart so much; there was no point in giving her further cause.• I try to harden myself, push the guilt away.• Opposition to the peace talks has hardened since the attack.• Harden the chocolates by putting them in the fridge.• Much of the mountain consists of volcanic ash, long since hardened to jagged rock.• The death of a parent can harden young people, making them bitter.From Longman Business Dictionaryhardenhard‧en /ˈhɑːdnˈhɑːrdn/ verb [intransitive] British English FINANCE if prices on a financial market harden, they go upTesco hardened 4 pence to 225.5 pence.→ See Verb table 