| 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. |
| 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.)
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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