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hardening

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Hardening
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hard⋅en⋅ing

  [hahr-dn-ing]
–noun
1. a material that hardens another, as an alloy added to iron to make steel.
2. the process of becoming hard or rigid.
Use hardening in a Sentence
Origin:
1620–30; harden + -ing 1
Hardening
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hard⋅en

  [hahr-dn]
–verb (used with object)
1. to make hard or harder: to harden steel.
2. to make pitiless or unfeeling: to harden one's heart.
3. to make rigid or unyielding; stiffen: The rigors of poverty hardened his personality.
4. to strengthen or confirm, esp. with reference to character, intentions, feelings, etc.; reinforce.
5. to make hardy, robust, or capable of endurance; toughen.
6. Military. to reinforce the structure of (a military or strategic installation) to protect it from nuclear bombardment.
–verb (used without object)
7. to become hard or harder.
8. to become pitiless or unfeeling.
9. to become rigid or unyielding; stiffen: His personality hardened over the years.
10. to become confirmed or strengthened: His resistance hardened.
11. to become inured or toughened: The troops hardened under constant fire.
12. Commerce. (of a market, prices, etc.)
a. to cease to fluctuate; firm: When the speculators withdrew from the market, the prices hardened.
b. to rise higher.
Origin:
1150–1200; ME; see hard, -en 1

Related forms:
hard⋅en⋅a⋅ble, adjective
hard⋅en⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty, noun

Synonyms:
1. solidify, indurate; petrify, ossify. 4. fortify, steel, brace, nerve.

Antonyms:
1. soften. 4. weaken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
Cite This Source Link To hardening
hard·en   (här'dn)   
v.   hard·ened, hard·en·ing, hard·ens

v.   tr.

  1. To make hard or harder.

  2. To enable to withstand physical or mental hardship.

  3. To make unfeeling, unsympathetic, or callous: "To love love and not its meaning hardens the heart in monstrous ways" (Archibald MacLeish).

  4. To make sharp, as in outline.

  5. To protect (nuclear weapons) by surrounding with earth or concrete.

v.   intr.

  1. To become hard or harder.

  2. To rise and become stable. Used of prices.

  3. To become inured.

Synonyms: These verbs mean to make resistant to hardship, especially through continued exposure: was hardened to frontier life; is acclimated to the tropical heat; was acclimatized by long hours to overwork; became seasoned to life in prison; toughened by experience.
hard·en·ing   (här'dn-ĭng)   
n.  

  1. The act or process of becoming hard or harder.

  2. Something that hardens, as a substance added to iron to yield steel.

  3. Gradual exposure of plants to cold weather.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Financial Dictionary

Hardening

1. A term used to describe a price of commodity or futures contracts that is gradually stabilizing.

2. A futures market that is slowly advancing in prices.

Investopedia Commentary

1. After a rise or fall in prices, a slow return to historically accepted levels is considered a hardening.

2. The prices of future contracts are considered to be hardening if they are increasing slowly, unlike a bulge market, in which the prices rise sharply.

See also: Break, Bulge, Buoyant, Buyer's Market, Commodity, Futures Contract

Investopedia.com. Copyright © 1999-2005 - All rights reserved. Owned and Operated by Investopedia Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: hard·en·ing
Pronunciation: 'härd-ni[ng], -&n-i[ng]
Function: noun
: SCLEROSIS 1 <hardening of the arteries>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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