strengthen
To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify.
Verb 4 meanings
To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify.
“strengthen a muscle”
To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten.
To augment; to improve; to intensify.
To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something)
“strengthen an army”
Etymology
From rare Middle English strengthenen (14th c.), from earlier strengthen (12th c.), where -en is the infinitive ending. Probably the original form was reinterpreted as strength + -en around the time when the infinitive ending was being apocopated in late Middle English.
Similar and opposite words
STRENGTHEN at a glance
STRENGTHEN has 10 letters and scores 14 points in Scrabble (S 1 + T 1 + R 1 + E 1 + N 1 + G 2 + T 1 + H 4 + E 1 + N 1) and 16 in Words With Friends, before board bonuses. It ranks #6,637 by how often it appears in everyday English. It is valid in ENABLE, NWL2023, Collins/SOWPODS.
Rhymes with strengthen
All rhymes- WHEN10
- THEN7
- KITCHEN16
- SHEN7
- HEATHEN13
- FRESHEN13
- EARTHEN10
- LENGTHEN12
- LICHEN11
- ACETAMINOPHEN22
- TOUGHEN11
- HYPHEN17
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