Harden

verb hardens · hardening · hardened

1. intransitive To become hard. The Chief Medical Officer of London Transport believes that public opinion against smoking will harden to the point of a total bar on the Underground, as in other countries.
2. ergative, transitive To make something hard or harder.
3. figuratively, transitive To strengthen. In view of the system's relatively low cost, the preferred alternative could be for the military user to avail himself of multiple base stations rather than seeking to harden the base station hardware for defense applications.
4. transitive To modify (a website or other system) to make it resistant to malicious attacks.
5. ambitransitive To become or make (a person or thing) resistant or less sensitive. (obs.)
6. informal, intransitive To get an erection. He hardened as he imagined himself running his hands over her small breasts
7. ambitransitive To become or make (a consonant) more fortis; to (cause to) undergo fortition.
8. To unpalatalize or velarize. Of course one needs to keep in mind the fact that *tʹ and *dʹ are hardened before *e and *i in Ukrainian and Rusyn[…]

Similar: anneal, harden, indurate, obdurate, sclerotise, solidify, steel, stiffen, temper

noun hardens

1. alternative, countable, uncountable Alternative form of hurden (“coarse linen”).hurden

proper noun Hardens

1. countable, uncountable A surname.
2. countable, uncountable A suburb in the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall, West Midlands, England (OS grid ref SK0101).
3. countable, uncountable A village and civil parish (with a village council) in the Metropolitan Borough of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE0838).
4. countable, uncountable A town in Hilltops council area, southern New South Wales, Australia.