hardenhard‧en /ˈhɑːdn $ ˈhɑːrdn/ ●○○ verb [intransitive, transitive] 
It will take about 24 hours for the glue to harden.2if your attitude hardens, or if something hardens it, you become more strict and determined and less sympathetic OPP soften: Attitudes towards the terrorists have hardened even more since the attack.3written if your face or voice hardens, or if something hardens it, you look or sound less sympathetic or happy OPP soften: His face hardened momentarily, then he looked away.4harden your heart to make yourself not feel pity or sympathy for someone
VERB TABLE
harden
| Simple Form | ||
| Present | I, you, we, they | harden |
| he, she, it | hardens | |
| Past | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | hardened |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have hardened |
| he, she, it | has hardened | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had hardened |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will harden |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have hardened |
| Continuous Form | ||
| Present | I | am hardening |
| he, she, it | is hardening | |
| you, we, they | are hardening | |
| Past | I, he, she, it | was hardening |
| you, we, they | were hardening | |
| Present perfect | I, you, we, they | have been hardening |
| he, she, it | has been hardening | |
| Past perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | had been hardening |
| Future | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will be hardening |
| Future perfect | I, you, he, she, it, we, they | will have been hardening |
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Harden the chocolates by putting them in the fridge.
- Much of the mountain consists of volcanic ash, long since hardened to jagged rock.
- Opposition to the peace talks has hardened since the attack.
- Steel is hardened by heating it to a very high temperature.
- The clay needs to harden before it can be painted.
- The death of a parent can harden young people, making them bitter.
- The glue needs about 24 hours to harden.
- I try to harden myself, push the guilt away.
- Isobel glanced at her husband, and saw his face had hardened, and that his eyes were angry.
- Kiki thought about these things as she was lying naked in her bed wishing the fudge would harden.
- Pores enlarge and the skin slowly becomes coarser, as its natural collagen hardens.
- The girl had hardened her heart so much; there was no point in giving her further cause.
- The ground was hardened by a sharp frost making the going firm on a fine, sunny day.
- When Glover folded back the blanket her expression hardened, her face became the fixed eyes and mouth of a hawk.
Longman Language Activatorto become hard or make something hard
· The glue needs about 24 hours to harden.· Steel is hardened by heating it to a very high temperature.harden into/to · Much of the mountain consists of volcanic ash, long since hardened to jagged rock.
if a liquid such as melted metal or wax solidifies , it becomes hard: · Tools are made by pouring liquid metal into a mould and allowing it to cool and solidify.· As the lava flowed down the volcano it solidified, forming strange shapes.
if a liquid substance sets , it becomes harder - use this to talk about something that slowly becomes harder after it is mixed with water, for example, food or building materials: · Put the jelly in the fridge for an hour to set.· The concrete will take several hours to set, so make sure no one walks on it.
if a liquid freezes , it becomes hard because it has become very cold: · The water in the lake used to freeze most winters, and then it was good for skating.be frozen solid: · Hey! The milk's frozen solid!
to make something stiffer and harder: · Point your toes and stiffen the muscles in your legs.· You can stiffen curtain fabric by using a special liquid solution.
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Teenagers should not be sent to prison to mix with hardened criminals (=criminals who have committed and will continue to commit a lot of crimes). Even hardened cynics believe the meeting is a step towards peace.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSNOUN
(=they feel less sympathy and they want to be stricter or firmer)· People’s attitudes towards sex offenders have hardened.
Teenagers should not be sent to prison to mix with hardened criminals (=criminals who have committed and will continue to commit a lot of crimes). Even hardened cynics believe the meeting is a step towards peace.· If this is done in hardness of spirit, it tends to harden attitudes and drive people away for the Lord.· Carter himself, as one part of his hardening attitude toward the Soviets, lost faith in the treaty.· Such an attitude often hardens the attitude of those with whom one negotiates.· The Church of Rome, on the other hand, hardened its attitude against birth control.
· He looked at Caroline like a man rising from a deep sleep, and then his face hardened.· With each miss, the expression on her face hardens.· Mavis could feel her face harden into a plastic smile, like a plate of gravy skinning over.
· The girl had hardened her heart so much; there was no point in giving her further cause.· But difficulties did not harden his heart.· And then Nancy will harden her heart against him.· I have a suspicion that the justifiable coverage we got in the media hardened the hearts at Shire Hall.· Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.· He tried to harden his heart in advance, but knew it was just a front.· When he had left her with a tiny baby, she had hardened her heart somehow.· She hardened her heart and thought she should swiftly make it clear she had not come in search of him.
· Fears of a feud between the rival republican groups has also hardened positions.
· Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
VERB· Once a happy, handsome country boy, Inman has become hardened, cynical, burned out.· Many people become human relations victims over and over again without becoming hardened, insensitive or recluses.
· Place on a tray lined with nonstick baking parchment and leave to harden in the fridge.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY
- And then Nancy will harden her heart against him.
- But difficulties did not harden his heart.
- He hardened his heart and turned on his computer, smiling acidly at the screen.
- He tried to harden his heart in advance, but knew it was just a front.
- She hardened her heart and thought she should swiftly make it clear she had not come in search of him.
- The girl had hardened her heart so much; there was no point in giving her further cause.
- Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.
- When he had left her with a tiny baby, she had hardened her heart somehow.
WORD FAMILYnounhardshiphardnesshardinessadjectivehardhardenedhardyadverbhardhardlyverbharden
1to become firm or stiff, or to make something firm or stiff OPP soften: It will take about 24 hours for the glue to harden.2if your attitude hardens, or if something hardens it, you become more strict and determined and less sympathetic OPP soften: Attitudes towards the terrorists have hardened even more since the attack.3written if your face or voice hardens, or if something hardens it, you look or sound less sympathetic or happy OPP soften: His face hardened momentarily, then he looked away.4harden your heart to make yourself not feel pity or sympathy for someone