- 1[transitive, intransitive] toughen (something) (up) to become or make something stronger, so that it is not easily cut, broken, etc. toughened glass
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- 2[transitive] toughen something (up) to make something such as laws or rules stricter The government is considering toughening up the law on censorship.
- 3[transitive] toughen somebody (up) to make someone stronger and more able to deal with difficult situations His parents sent him away to school to toughen him up.
toughen
verbNAmE//ˈtʌfn//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they toughen he / she / it toughens
past simple toughened
-ing form toughening
Check pronunciation: toughen