Sharpen

Definition: Sharpen

Sharpen

Verb

1. Make sharp or sharper; "sharpen the knives".

2. Make sharp or sharper; "We had to sharpen our arguments".

3. Become sharp or sharper; "The debate sharpened".

4. Put into focus; as of an image on a screen; "Please focus the image; we cannot enjoy the movie".

5. Make sharp or sharper of images and sounds.

6. Raise the pitch of (musical notes).

7. Give a point to; "The candles are tapered".

8. Make more acute; as of one's senses; "This drug will sharpen your vision".

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "sharpen" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350. (references)

Synonyms: Sharpen

Excitation

Stimulate; exsuscitate; inspirit; spirit up, stir up, work up, pique; infuse life into, give new life to; bring new blood, introduce new blood; quicken; sharpen, whet; work upon; (incite); hurry on, give a fillip, put on one's mettle.

Physical Energy

Verb: give -energy; Noun: energize, stimulate, kindle, excite, exert; sharpen, intensify; inflame; (render violent); wind up; (strengthen).

Physical Sensibility

Render sensible. Adjective: sharpen, cultivate, tutor.

Preparation

Elaborate, mature, ripen, mellow, season, bring to maturity; nurture; (aid); hatch, cook, brew; temper, anneal, smelt; barbecue; infumate; maturate. equip, arm, man; fit-out, fit up; furnish, rig, dress, garnish, betrim, accouter, array, fettle, fledge; dress up, furbish up, brush up, vamp up; refurbish; sharpen one's tools, trim one's foils, set, prime, attune; whet the knife, whet the sword; wind up, screw up; adjust; (fit); put in trim, put in train, put in gear, put in working order, put in tune, put in a groove for, put in harness; pack.

Sharpness

Render sharp; Adjective: sharpen, point, aculeate, whet, barb, spiculate, set, strop, grind; chip.

Teaching

Sharpen the wits, enlarge the mind; give new ideas, open the eyes, bring forward, "teach the young idea how to shoot"; improve.

Violence

Render violent; Adjective: sharpen, stir up, quicken, excite, incite, annoy, urge, lash, stimulate, turn on; irritate, inflame, kindle, suscitate, foment; accelerate, aggravate, exasperate, exacerbate, convulse, infuriate, madden, lash into fury; fan the flame; add fuel to the flame, pour oil on the fire, oleum addere camino.

Crosswords: Sharpen

She used to sharpen her nails especially (Jean de Florette; writing credit: Claude Berri; Gérard Brach)

Well then we sharpen our olive branch into the point of a spear (Andromeda; writing credit: John Cranna)

This would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultra-violence (A Clockwork Orange; writing credit: Stanley Kubrick)

And something to sharpen them with (Erik the Viking; writing credit: Terry Jones)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Books

• How to Sharpen Carving Tools: Woodcarving Step by Step With Rick Butz (Woodcarving Step by Step With Rick Butz) (reference)

• Mensa Riddles & Conundrums: Over 100 Games & Puzzles to Sharpen Your Wits & Challenge Your Intelligence (reference)

• Sharpen Your Tactics (reference)

• Spelling: Inventive Exercises to Sharpen Skills and Raise Achievement (Basic, Not Boring 4 to 5) (reference)

• The Fifth Grade Book: Inventive Exercises to Sharpen Skills and Raise Achievement (Basic, Not Boring) (reference)

  (more book examples)

Music

• Sharpen Your Teeth (reference)

  (more classical music examples; more popular music examples)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Production. Submarine chasers. They keep Uncle Sam's naval bombers in practice. Target boats nearing completion at an Eastern yard. Bombers drop sandbag "bombs" on the armored decks to sharpen their aim when they are handling the real "eggs of war." Marin. Credit: Library of Congress.

Source: pictures compiled by the editor from various references; see picture credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

He resolved to sharpen it in the galleys and to take it with him when he went out.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

Business

While outsourcing allows larger companies to sharpen their market focus, put more energy into core operations and reduce costs, the smaller companies which are rapidly expanding, are using outsourcing as a means of matching the capabilities of larger firms without the expense of acquiring and managing the resources needed. (references)

Economic History

Netherlands

At a national level, Dutch justice and interior ministries have taken steps to sharpen regulations to combat bribery in public procurement and in the issuance of permits and subsidies. (references)

South Africa

The foundations are being laid for improved long-term economic growth and a series of growth-oriented microeconomic reforms introduced will complement and sharpen the broader structural changes that have taken place through the economy. (references)

Political Economy

Sri Lanka

USAID's current program will sharpen business competitiveness in global markets and extend its program affecting trade and investment. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits.

Expressions using "sharpen": sharpen a pencil ♦ sharpen up. Additional references.

Ending with "sharpen": re-sharpen.

Afrikaans

aanskerp. (various references)

Albanian

sqaroj (clarify, dissolve, elucidate, enlighten, enucleate, explain, gloss, illuminate, illustrate, straighten, straighten out), shpij, theksoj (accentuate, emphasize, highlight, point, punctuate, stress), mpreh (edge, grind, point, whet), acaroj (accentuate, aggravate, chafe, exacerbate, fluster, jar, nettle, peeve). (various references)

Arabic 

‏جعله حادا, ‏جعله أكثر وضوحا, ‏أصبح حادا, ‏شحذ (be sharp, edge, grind, hone, quicken, sharp, sharpening, stone, strop, whet, whetting). (various references)

Bulgarian 

усилвам (amplify, augment, exacerbate, exalt, exasperate, fortify, heighten, increase, intensify, magnify, nurse, piece in, potentiate, stiffen, strengthen, swell, tone up, zip), точа (edge, grind, hone, reel, roll out, set, throw, whet), остря (grind, point, strop, whet), наострям (perk, point, set), подострям (point), изострям (edge, escalate, exacerbate, subtilize, taper). (various references)

Chinese 

削尖 (sharpened, Sharpening). (various references)

Czech

povzbudit (buck up, cheer up, embolden, encourage, hearten, spirit, stimulate, stir, whet), ořezat (pare, shave), brousit (cut, grind, whet). (various references)

Danish

slibning (abrasion, acuminate, cutting, grinding, lapping, rubbing, sanding, smoothing, surface grinding, to grind tools, whet 3)grounding), grovslibning (acuminate, bruting, grinding, surface grinding, to grind tools, whet 3)grounding). (various references)

Dutch

slijpen (acuminate, cutting, grind, grinding, hone, lapping, sanding, slice lapping, smoothing, surface grinding, to grind tools, whet 3)grounding), scherpen (burring, dressing, sharpening), aanzetten (abet, activate, attach, fan, fire, fur, inspire, put on, put onto, sew, sew on, start, stimulate, stir up, switch on, swotch on, turn on, urge). (various references)

Esperanto

akrigi. (various references)

Faeroese

hvessa. (various references)

Farsi 

نوک تیزکردن , تیزکردن (Grind, Keen, Point, Sharp, Whet), تیزشدن (Peak), تندکردن (Accelerate), تقلب کردن . (various references)

Finnish

teroittaa (grind, impress on a person, imprint on a person's memory, point), kärjistää (bring to a head, heighten, make critical), hioa (cut, grind, whet). (various references)

French

affiler, aiguiser (be sharp, sharp). (various references)

German

schleifen (cut, drag, drill, edge, face, frogmarch, grind, haul, hone, polish, raze, sand, slip, slur, sweat, trail, whet), schärfen (acrimonies, edge, grind, hone, poignancies, pungencies, sharpnesses, whet), wetzen (grind, scoot, whet, zip), anspitzen (point). (various references)

Greek 

ακονίζω (edge, grind, hone, strop, whet). (various references)

Hebrew 

למרוט (pluck, polish, pull), ללטוש (hone, whet), ללטש (grind, polish, refurbish, smarten, whet), לשנן (chatterbox, indent, jag, talker, tongue, whet), לחדד (edge, hone, point, whet), להשחיז (grind, hone, whet), להחריף (aggravate, be aggravated, become more serious, exacerbate, worsen). (various references)

Hungarian

élesít (arm, ground, hone, to edge, to grind, to hone, to sharpen, to strop, to whet). (various references)

Icelandic

skarpa, hvessa, brýna. (various references)

Indonesian

pertajam, meruncingkan, meruncingi (exacerbate), menajamkan. (various references)

Italian

affilare (edge, grind, strop, whet), acuire (acrimonies, whet). (various references)

Japanese Kanji 

削 (crossout, curtail, pare, plane, reduce, scrape off, shave, whittle). (various references)

Japanese Katakana 

さく (a harvest, a work, cord, crossout, curtail, fence, last, paling, pare, plan, plane, policy, reduce, rope, scrape off, shave, to alienate, to avoid, to bloom, to cede, to cleave, to cut up, to divide, to separate, to sever, to spare, to split, to tear, whittle, yesterday). (various references)

Korean 

날카롭게하십시요. (various references)

Manx

shleeu (grind, grinding, sharpening, whet, whet appetite), goaill foyr, geyrey, geyraghey (edge, exalt, fresh, fresh of mind, intensify, sharpening, whet, whet appetite), foyraghey (hone), cur foyr er (chamfer, grind, oilstone, polish up), breckey (bespeckle, brindle, chequer, chequering, dapple, dappled, embroider, freckle, jotting, mottle, pebble, rough, spot, sprinkle, variegate, variegation), brackey (bracket, put a point on, variegate, whittle), birraghey (taper, tone up). (various references)

Maya

ha' (to sharpen, water). (various references)

Pig Latin

arpenshay.(various references)

Portuguese

aguçar (acuminate, excite, point, rouse, stir up, whittle), afiar (edge, grind, hone, impart, point, whet, whittle). (various references)

Romanian

stimula (abet, activate, actuate, brace, cheer, develop, dynamize, elate, Energize, enliven, excite, fillip, fire, gladden, goad, hop, incite, inspire, irritate, lash, motive, needle, pander to, pep, pep up, prick, prompt, propel, provoke, push, quicken, rouse, spur, stimulate, stir up, tickle, urge, whet), zgândãri (aggravate, anger, embitter, rake, touch), trezi (arouse, awake, awaken, call, disabuse, evoke, hold up, hound on, induce, inspire with, knock up, prompt, raise, rip up, rouse, wake, wake up), ridica prin diez, piţigãia, intensifica (enhance, exaggerate, exalt, heighten, increase, intensify, redouble, renew, swell), excita (agitate, awaken, excite, irritate, pander to, quicken, rouse, stimulate, stir up, tickle, whet), ascuţi (cultivate, edge, give an edge to, grind, hone, intensify, point, put an edge on, refine, set an edge to, strop, taper, whet, worsen), accentua (accent, accentuate, emphasize, increase, strengthen, stress, underline), înãspri (aggravate, embitter, harden, roughen, steel, worsen). (various references)

Russian 

точить (edge, grind, hone, strops, turn, whet, whetting). (various references)

Scottish

bleith (grind, grinding, sharpen on a grindstone). (various references)

Serbo-Croatian

zarezati (cut, nick, notch, score), zaoštriti, zašiljiti (taper), ušiljiti (peak), naoštriti, izoštriti (sharpen up), šiljiti (make pointy). (various references)

Spanish

aguzar (acuminate, grind, whet), afilar (edge, grind, hone, point, set, taper, whet). (various references)

Sranan

srapu (abrasive, acerbic, acid, acrid, acrimonious, acute, lurid, sharp). (various references)

Swedish

vässa (edge, whet), slipa (edge, grind, hone, lap, polish, whet), skärpa (acerbity, acridity, acridness, acrimony, acuity, acuteness, asperity, definition, edge, exactness, give an edge to, increase, poignancy, pungency, put an edge on, severity, sharpness, stiffen, sting, strengthen, whet). (various references)

Turkish

sivriltmek (diminish, distinguish, fine away, fine down, point, taper, whet), sertleştirmek (anneal, cure, harden, indurate, size, solidify, steel, stiffen, temper, toughen), teşvik etmek (abet, cheer, cheer on, countenance, draw, egg, egg on, embolden, encourage, fillip, Foster, ginger, ginger up, give a fillip to, give countenance to, goad, goad on, incite, induce, inspirit, instigate, keep smb. in countenance, lend countenance to, lend wings to, prod, prompt, put a premium on, put smb. on his mettle, revitalize, set on, spark, spoonfeed, spur, spur smb. on, stimulate, stir up, tickle up, urge), keskinleştirmek (edge), keskinleşmek, inceltmek (attenuate, diminish, fine away, fine down, reduce, refine, slenderize, subtilize, thin, thin down, thin of, thin out), bilemek (abrade, grind, hone, reset, whet), bílemek, açmak (bare, beat, bring up in conversation, bring up the subject, broach, cave, cave in, clear, clear away, clear off, clear up, cleave, cut, cut loose, dehisce, denude, dilate, dilute, disclose, disentangle, elaborate, evolve, expand, fade, inaugurate, institute, lay open, lead, lighten, loosen, loosen up, offer, open, open out, open up, pass, put up, ring up, shake out, site, spread, spread out, strip, switch on, thaw, thaw out, throw open, tint, turn on, turn up, unbind, unbosom, unburden, uncase, unclasp, uncloak, unclose, unclothe, uncoil, uncover, uncross, uncurl, undo, unfold, unfurl, unhitch, unlock, unloose, unpack, unpin, unplait, unroll, unseal, unsnarl, unstop, untangle, unthread, untie, untwine, untwist, unwind, unwrap, usher in, whet, whiten, wind). (various references)

Turkmen 

taplamak (grind, whet), яiteltmek, яamamak (mend, repair), gaяramak (hone). (various references)

Ukrainian

гострити (hone, sharp, whet), посилюватися (aggrandize, get up, heighten, intensify, tone up), посилювати (aggrandize, aggravate, amplify, augment, exalt, fade up, heighten, reinforce). (various references)

Welsh

minio (edge, make impression), llymu (whet), llymhau (beggar, impoverish, make bare), hogi (hone, whet), blaenllymu (whet), awchlymu (whet). (various references)

acurere, cacumina. (various references)

grindan. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

Derivations

Words beginning with "sharpen": sharpened, sharpener, sharpeners, sharpening, sharpens. (additional references)

Misspellings

"Sharpen" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: shagreen, Sharapov, shareen, Sharlene, Sharmpal, sharpay, sharpe, sharped, sharpee, Shar-pei, Sharpik, Sharpo, Sheepen, sheren, sherpani, Sherpao, Sheurpe, Shireen. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits.

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

-1 letter: arpens, phrase, raphes, seraph, shapen, shaper, sherpa.

-2 letters: apers, apres, arpen, ashen, aspen, asper, earns, ephas, hanse, hares, harps, heaps, hears, herns, napes, nares, neaps, nears, panes, pares, parse, peans, pears, phase, prase, presa, rapes, raphe, reaps, rheas, saner, shape, share, sharn, sharp, shear, snare, sneap, spare, spean, spear.

-3 letters: anes, aper, apes.

+1 letter: hanapers, heparins, panthers, seraphin, sharpens, shrapnel.

+2 letters: canephors, chaperons, earphones, handpress, pentarchs, perianths, pharynges, pharynxes, planisher, prehumans, preshrank, reshaping, sharpened, sharpener, sharpness.

+3 letters: alpenhorns, anastrophe, antiherpes, apprehends, chaperones, harpooners, headspring, hyperpneas, interphase, marchpanes, orphanages, parchments, phalangers, philanders, planishers, preshaping, prewashing, printheads, rephrasing, sapphirine, sharpeners, sharpening, springhead, superhuman, transshape, wardenship.

+4 letters: anastrophes, anemographs, antiphrases, antistrophe, chairperson, euphoriants, foremanship, generalship, gramophones, granophyres, graphicness, handpresses, handyperson, headsprings, hemipterans, hierophants, homopterans, houseparent, hydrophanes, hydroplanes, hypermanias, hypermnesia, hyperplanes, hypersaline, hypertonias, interparish, interphases, leprechauns, managership, metanephros, misanthrope, nalorphines, panhandlers, parenchymas, parentheses, parenthesis, parenthoods, parishioner, partnership, pathfinders, pentarchies, phalanstery, phanerogams, pinfeathers, planisphere, preachiness, preachments, prefreshman, prehearings, radiophones, rhizoplanes, scenography, semaphoring, senatorship, sharpnesses, shinplaster, snapshooter, sonographer, springheads, stenography, straphanger, superharden, traineeship, transhipped, transshaped, transshapes, vibraphones, wardenships, xiphisterna.