verb · neutral
harden
UK/ˈhɑːdən/US/ˈhɑrdən/HAR·den
Band 5-6task2speaking
to make something become hard or more firm; figuratively, to make someone or something more strict or resolute
Examples
“Cold weather can harden the ground.”
“The politician hardened her stance on immigration.”
“Weeks of training hardened the rookie into a disciplined player.”
Band 8 sentence
“Over time, repeated exposure to harsh conditions hardened the community's resolve to adapt.”
Collocations
- harden attitudes
- harden the surface
- become hardened
Word family
hard adjectiveharden verbhardened adjective / past participlehardening noun / gerund
Common mistakes
The government harden their policy→The government hardened its policy
to make harden→to harden
harden up→harden
Say it for a higher band
5become hard→6strengthen→7+harden
Synonyms
strengthen
solidify
Easily confused
solidify
“The committee moved quickly to solidify the agreement.”
Related words
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In -en
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