Sharpen SHARPEN, v.t. 1. To make sharp; to give a keen edge
or a fine point to a thing; to edge; to point; as, to sharpen
a knife, an ax or the teeth of a saw; to sharpen a sword.
All of the Israelites went down to the Philistines to sharpen
every man his share and his coulter, and his ax and his mattock. 1 Sam
8. 2. To make more eager or active; as, to sharpen the edge of
industry. 3. To make more pungent and painful. The abuse of wealth
and greatness may hereafter sharpen the sting of conscience.
4. To make more quick, acute or ingenious. The wit or the intellect
is sharpened by study. 5. To render perception more quick
or acute. Th' air sharpen'd his visual ray To objects
distant far. Milton. 6. To render more keen; to make more
eager for food or for any gratification; as, to sharpen the
appetite; to sharpen a desire. 7. To make biting, sarcastic
or severe. Sharpen each word. 8. To render less flat, or more
shrill or piercing. Inclosures not only preserve sound, but increase
and sharpen it. Bacon. 9. To make more tart or acid; to
make sour; as, the rays of the sun sharpen vinegar. 10. To make
more distressing; as, to sharpen grief or other evis. 11. In
music, to raise a sound by means of a sharp. SH'ARPEN,
v.i. To grow or become sharp.
sharpen
v 1: make sharp or sharper; "sharpen the knives" [ant: blunt,
dull]
2: make crisp or more crisp and precise; "We had to sharpen our
arguments"
3: become sharp or sharper; "The debate sharpened"
4: put (an image) into focus; "Please focus the image; we cannot
enjoy the movie" [syn: focus, focalize, focalise,
sharpen] [ant: blear, blur]
5: make (images or sounds) sharp or sharper [ant: soften]
6: raise the pitch of (musical notes) [ant: drop, flatten]
7: give a point to; "The candles are tapered" [syn: sharpen,
taper, point]
8: make (one's senses) more acute; "This drug will sharpen your
vision" [syn: sharpen, heighten]
sharpen verb (sharpened; sharpening)
Date: 15th century transitive verb
to make sharp or sharper; especiallyhoneintransitive
verb
to become sharp or sharper • sharpenernoun
Sharpen \Sharp"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sarpened; p. pr. & vb.
n. Sharpening.] [See Sharp, a.]
To make sharp. Specifically:
(a) To give a keen edge or fine point to; to make sharper;
as, to sharpen an ax, or the teeth of a saw.
(b) To render more quick or acute in perception; to make more
ready or ingenious.
The air . . . sharpened his visual ray To objects
distant far. --Milton.
He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and
sharpens our skill. --Burke.
(c) To make more eager; as, to sharpen men's desires.
Epicurean cooks Sharpen with cloyless sauce his
appetite. --Shak.
(d) To make more pungent and intense; as, to sharpen a pain
or disease.
(e) To make biting, sarcastic, or severe. ``Sharpen each
word.'' --E. Smith.
(f) To render more shrill or piercing.
Inclosures not only preserve sound, but increase
and sharpen it. --Bacon.
(g) To make more tart or acid; to make sour; as, the rays of
the sun sharpen vinegar.
(h) (Mus.) To raise, as a sound, by means of a sharp; to
apply a sharp to.
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