Meanings
present singular third person toughens · participle present toughening · participle past toughened · past toughened
- transitiveTo make tough.
A cold shower every morning will toughen your skin.
2 more examples
The new training program is designed to toughen the athletes.
Although the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) had toughened its stance on new third rail electrification, gaining approval for short sections of third rail to charge the batteries could be more straightforward.
2025 October 29, Chris Howe, “A step closer to Liverpool dream...”, in RAIL, number 1047, page 50
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Translations
Bulgarian втвърдявам, втвърдявам се
- втвърдявам (vtvărdjavam)to make tougher
- втвърдявам се (vtvărdjavam se)to become tougher
Czech ztuhnout, ztvrdnout
- ztuhnoutto become tougher
- ztvrdnoutto become tougher
Finnish koventaa, vahvistaa
- koventaato make tougher
- vahvistaato make tougher
- karkaistato make tougher
- koventuato become tougher
- vahvistuato become tougher
- karkaistuato become tougher
German versteifen
- versteifento become tougher
Irish cruaigh, cruaigh
- cruaighto make tougher
- cruaighto become tougher
Māori whakapūioio, whakamarohi
- whakapūioioto make tougher
- whakamarohito make tougher
- whakapakeketo make tougher
Russian ужесточа́ть, ужесточи́ть
- ужесточа́ть (užestočátʹ)to make tougher
- ужесточи́ть (užestočítʹ)to make tougher
Slovak stvrdnúť, stuhnúť
- stvrdnúťto become tougher
- stuhnúťto become tougher
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with toughen
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
toughen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toughen
“toughen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toughen. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “toughen,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/toughen.
Source: toughen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.