sharpen
verbUS /ˈʃɑɹpən/ · UK /ˈʃɑːpən/
Etymology From Middle English scharpenen, scharpnen, equivalent to sharp + -en.
1
Figuratively, Sometimes To make sharp.
- to sharpen a pencil or a knife or a musical note
- He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill.1790 November, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France, and on the Proceedings in Certain Societies in London Relative to that Event. […], London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC:
1 more example
- The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives.[…]who, if anyone, is policing their use. Such concerns were sharpened further by the continuing revelations about how the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been using algorithms to help it interpret the colossal amounts of data it has collected from its covert dragnet of international telecommunications.2013 July 26, Leo Hickman, “How algorithms rule the world”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 26:
2
To become sharp.
- The organizers said they had found themselves "more involved in the web of social convulsions and violence that is tormenting our country. The present economic crisis, the grave political instability and the rapidly sharpening violence have finally overtaken […] our wishes.1990 February 4, Jennie McKnight, “Peruvian Politics Threaten Encuentro”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 2:
- Derived terms
- missharpen, oversharpen, presharpen, resharpen, sharpenable, sharpener, sharpen up, unsharpen