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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Strengthen \Strength"en\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Strengthened}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Strengthening}.]
1. To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; as, to strengthen a limb, a bridge, an army; to strengthen an obligation; to strengthen authority.
Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest, . . . With powerful policy strengthen themselves. --Shak.
2. To animate; to encourage; to fix in resolution.
Charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him. --Deut. iii. 28.
Syn: To invigorate; confirm; establish; fortify; animate; encourage.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Strengthen \Strength"en\, verb (used without an object) To grow strong or stronger.
The young disease, that must subdue at length, Grows with his growth, and strengthens with his strength. --Pope.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
strengthen
verb
1: make strong or stronger; "This exercise will strengthen your upper body"; "strenghten the relations between the two countries" [syn: {beef up}, {fortify}] [ant: {weaken}]
2: gain strength; "His body strengthened" [ant: {weaken}]
3: give a healthy elasticity to; "Let's tone our muscles" [syn: {tone}, {tone up}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
131 Moby Thesaurus words for "strengthen": accelerate, accrue, accumulate, add to, advance, affirm, aggravate, animate, anneal, appreciate, attest, augment, authenticate, back, back up, balloon, be tough, bear out, beef up, bloat, blow up, bolster, boom, boost, brace, brace up, breed, broaden, buttress, case harden, certify, cheer, chirk up, circumstantiate, complicate, concentrate, condense, confirm, consolidate, corroborate, crescendo, deepen, develop, document, double, embolden, encourage, endure, energize, enhance, exacerbate, exaggerate, fortify, gain, gain strength, gelt, get ahead, gird, go up, grow, hang tough, harden, hearten, heat up, heighten, hop up, hot up, increase, inspirit, intensify, invigorate, jazz up, key up, magnify, make complex, mount, multiply, nerve, nourish, nutrify, prepare, probate, proliferate, prop, prove, ramify, ratify, ready, recruit, redouble, refresh, reinforce, reinvigorate, rejuvenate, renew, restrengthen, rigidify, rise, run up, screw up, sharpen, shoot up, shore up, sinew, snowball, soup up, spread, steel, step up, stiffen, substantiate, supplement, support, sustain, swell, temper, tense, tighten, tone up, toughen, trice up, triple, undergird, uphold, validate, verify, vitalize, warrant, wax, whet, widen
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Definitions retrieved from local copies of the freely distributed DICT client/server software and databases. Click here for database copyright information. - KM |