How to Use toughen in a Sentence

toughen

verb

• The government is toughening antidrug laws.
• His skin toughened against the acidic pulp that the plant spat when cleaved.
  — Tucker Harris, Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2024
• When the genre toughened up, there wasn’t room for him.
  — Chris Willman, Variety, 10 Oct. 2023
• The young Americans will have to toughen up and get through it.
  — Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Aug. 2021
• Lug-sole Chelsea boots from Ganni will toughen up the look.
  — Laura Jackson, Vogue, 16 Jan. 2023
• The changes would also toughen oversight for a wider group of large banks.
  — Rob Copeland, New York Times, 10 July 2023
• For decades, they were told to shake it off or toughen up — to set aside the doubt, or the demons, and focus on the task at hand: winning.
  — Jenna Fryer, Chron, 28 July 2021
• The slanted bob was styled to look a little wet and lived-in, giving the sweet color a bit of edge to toughen it up.
  — Kara Nesvig, Allure, 21 July 2022
• Wait about two weeks after a freeze so that the skin on the tubers can toughen, says Benzakein.
  — Arricca Elin Sansone, Country Living, 9 Mar. 2021
• Your daughter had to toughen up to stand up to her brother, and now your youngest son is taking the brunt of the aggression.
  — Washington Post, 10 Mar. 2022
• In the Adriatic Sea, the arm of the Mediterranean just east of the Italian peninsula, the floating mucus can dry and toughen in the sun.
  — Sarah Zhang, The Atlantic, 21 June 2021
• Leaf’s Bolts did what San Diego’s perfect weather could not do, toughening up the young guy for the football life to come.
  — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Sep. 2023
• At that time, lawmakers were looking to toughen the penalties for gun crime.
  — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 8 Feb. 2023
• And there seems to be a franchise-wide refusal to toughen up, as has been evidenced by poor special teams play for the last decade.
  — Nick Canepa Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 20 Nov. 2021
• But with Allen’s contract taking a bigger bite out of the team’s payroll, the road figures to only toughen.
  — Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Jan. 2024
• Her soulful stylings and outrageous rock-outs would toughen me up.
  — Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 25 May 2023
• One of the bill’s last sticking points was a provision to toughen federal law to keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers.
  — Emily Cochrane, BostonGlobe.com, 23 June 2022
• In the same, Holly vowed to toughen up so the more emotional moments don’t get the best of their relationship.
  — Kelly Wynne, Peoplemag, 19 Dec. 2023
• The price for credits spiked this year after the number of permits was reduced to toughen emissions rules.
  — Rob Nikolewski, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Oct. 2021
• Doctors either use lasers to scar and toughen the tissue in the soft palate or insert plastic pillars within the palate that heal over.
  — Paul Kita, Men's Health, 15 Dec. 2022
• Tobias Harris picked a pair of Philadelphia's deep reserves to knock him around and toughen his game on the low post.
  — Dan Gelston, ajc, 23 May 2021
• Fearful patients will get help, not comments to toughen up.
  — Editorial Board, Star Tribune, 10 Apr. 2021
• Baking soda raises the pH of the meat, which prevents the proteins from bonding and tightening up (which can toughen the meat).
  — Robin Miller, The Arizona Republic, 7 Apr. 2023
• The key to tender, pillowy gnocchi is using a light touch and adding just enough flour to get the dough to a workable consistency (any more will toughen the dumplings).
  — Tina Martinez, Good Housekeeping, 8 Aug. 2023
• These attacks, if anything, appear to have toughened him.
  — Roger Cohen, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2024
• To toughen the surface, the glass is dipped into a salt solution, causing larger, potassium ions to swap places at the surface of the glass with the smaller ions.
  — Manasee Wagh, Popular Mechanics, 4 Aug. 2023
• Be careful about the water temperature—if the water is too hot, fish could curl, meat could toughen, and eggs could scramble.
  — Sarah Jampel, Bon Appétit, 16 Mar. 2021
• The effort to toughen voting rights in the run-up to this November’s midterm elections has taken a huge blowback as many are concerned about the fate of Congress in 2023.
  — Kevin L. Clark, Essence, 24 Jan. 2022
• Style it for summer with a matching white bag from Tory Burch or toughen up the look for fall with a pair of backless loafers by Bottega Veneta.
  — Laura Jackson, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2022
• The motion will likely now put pressure on Trudeau's government to toughen its stance on China.
  — Paula Newton and Ben Westcott, CNN, 22 Feb. 2021

Last Updated: 28 May 2024