different between fortify vs harden

English

Etymology

From Old French fortifier, from Latin fortific?.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?f??t?fa?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?f??t?fa?/
• Hyphenation: for?ti?fy

Verb

fortify (third-person singular simple present fortifies, present participle fortifying, simple past and past participle fortified)

1. (military) To increase the defenses of; to strengthen and secure by military works; to render defensible against an attack by hostile forces. [from early 15th c.]
2. (figuratively) To impart strength or vigor to.
3. (wine) To add spirits to wine to increase the alcohol content. [from 1880]

4. (food) To increase the nutritional value of food by adding ingredients. [from 1939]
   • 1979, Kiplinger's Personal Finance (volume 33, number 7, July 1979, page 47)

     Compare the nutrition information label of a regular ready-to-eat fortified cereal with that of a presweetened brand and you'll note that, although the sweetened one's sugar content is higher, the fortification is virtually identical.

Synonyms

• (To strengthen military defenses): castellate, incastle, incastellate; see also strengthen and secure
• (To impart strength): See also Thesaurus:strengthen

Derived terms

• biofortify

Related terms

• fort
• fortification
• fortress

Translations

English

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /?h??dn?/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?h??dn?/
• Rhymes: -??(?)d?n
• Hyphenation: hard?en

Etymology 1

From Middle English hardenen, equivalent to hard +? -en. Cognate with Danish hærdne (“to harden; cure”), Swedish hårdna (“to harden”), Norwegian herdne (“to harden”), Icelandic harðna (“to harden”).

Verb

harden (third-person singular simple present hardens, present participle hardening, simple past and past participle hardened)

1. (intransitive) To become hard (tough, resistant to pressure).
2. (transitive, ergative) To make something hard or harder (tough, resistant to pressure).
3. (transitive, figuratively) To strengthen.
   • 2002, Jane's International Defense Review (volume 35)

     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, computing) To modify (a website or other system) to make it resistant to malicious attacks.
5. (transitive, intransitive, dated) To become or make (a person or thing) resistant or less sensitive.

   Synonym: inure

   • KJV, Exodus 4:21

     When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.

6. (transitive, intransitive, phonology) To become or make (a consonant) more fortis.

Derived terms

• forharden
• hardened
• hardener
• hardening
• harden off
• harden someone's heart
• harden up
• overharden

Translations

Etymology 2

Noun

harden (countable and uncountable, plural hardens)

1. Alternative form of hurden (“coarse linen”)

Anagrams

• Harned, Hendra, hander

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -?rd?n

Verb

harden

1. (transitive) To render hard(er), more resistant etc.; to temper metal; to steel nerves

   De geharde veteranen verbeten de pijn zonder jammeren.

   The hardened veterans bore the pain without whining.

2. (transitive) to endure, bear, stand, tolerate

Inflection

Synonyms

• (to endure) uithouden, verdragen

Noun

harden

1. Plural form of harde