different between urge vs strengthen

English

Etymology

From Latin urge? (“urge”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??d??/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?d??/
• Rhymes: -??(?)d?

Noun

urge (plural urges)

1. A strong desire; an itch to do something.

Translations

Verb

urge (third-person singular simple present urges, present participle urging, simple past and past participle urged)

1. (transitive) To press; to push; to drive; to impel; to force onward.
2. (transitive) To press the mind or will of; to ply with motives, arguments, persuasion, or importunity.
3. (transitive) To provoke; to exasperate.
4. (transitive) To press hard upon; to follow closely.

   • Man?? and for ever?? wretch?! what wouldst thou have?? / Heir urges heir, like wave impelling wave.

5. (transitive) To present in an urgent manner; to insist upon.
6. (transitive, obsolete) To treat with forcible means; to take severe or violent measures with.

7. (transitive) To press onward or forward.
8. (transitive) To be pressing in argument; to insist; to persist.

Synonyms

• animate
• incite
• impel
• instigate
• stimulate
• encourage

Related terms

• urgent

Translations

See also

• surge

Anagrams

• Guer., Ruge, geru, grue, regu

French

Verb

urge

1. third-person singular present indicative of urger

Anagrams

• grue

Italian

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -urd?e

Verb

urge

1. third-person singular present indicative of urgere

Latin

Verb

urg?

1. second-person singular present active imperative of urge?

Portuguese

Verb

urge

1. third-person singular present indicative of urgir
2. second-person singular imperative of urgir

Spanish

Verb

urge

1. Informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of urgir.
2. Formal second-person singular (usted) present indicative form of urgir.
3. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present indicative form of urgir.

English

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?st???(k)??n/, /?st??n??n/

Verb

strengthen (third-person singular simple present strengthens, present participle strengthening, simple past and past participle strengthened)

1. (transitive) To make strong or stronger; to add strength to; to increase the strength of; to fortify.
   • c. 1600, William Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2

     Let noble Warwick, Cobham, and the rest, […]
     With powerful policy strengthen themselves.

   • 1851, Anonymous, Arthur Hamilton, and His Dog

     A little hardship, and a little struggling with the rougher elements of life, will perchance but strengthen and increase his courage, and prepare him for the conflicts and struggles of after years.

2. (transitive) To empower; to give moral strength to; to encourage; to enhearten.
   • 1769, The King James Bible, Deuteronomy iii. 28

     Charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him.

   • "A fine man, that Dunwody, yonder," commented the young captain, as they parted, and as he turned to his prisoner. "We'll see him on in Washington some day. He is strengthening his forces now against Mr. Benton out there. […]."

3. (transitive) To augment; to improve; to intensify.
4. (transitive) To reinforce, to add to, to support (someone or something)

5. (transitive) To substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.)

6. (intransitive) To grow strong or stronger.

Synonyms

• (to make strong or stronger): See also Thesaurus:strengthen
• (to augment): See also Thesaurus:augment

Antonyms

• weaken
• atrophy

Derived terms

• strengthener

Translations

References

• strengthen in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.

Middle English

Alternative forms

• strenkþen, strengþen, strengþe, strengþi, strengthe, strenght, strenthe, streynght, streynthyn, streyngthe
• (early) strengðden, strengþin, strencþen

Etymology

From strengthe +? -en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?str?nk??n/, /?str?n?ð?n/
• (dialectal) IPA^(key): /?str?n??n/, /?str?i?n??n/

Verb

strengthen

1. to strengthen, fortify (increase the strength of)
   • 1395, John Wycliffe, Bible, Job IV:

     Lo! thou hast tau?t ful many men, and thou hast strengthid hondis maad feynt.

2. to empower, to augment (increase the potency or severity of)
3. to enhearten, to encourage (increase the morale of)
4. to assist, to support (someone or something)
5. to substantiate; to corroborate (a belief, argument, etc.)
6. to approve or validate (a document).
7. to endeavour; to rouse oneself.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Chaucer to this entry?)

Conjugation

Descendants

• English: strength

References

• “strengthen, v.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.