sharpen

English

Etymology

From Middle English scharpenen, scharpnen, equivalent to sharp +‎ -en.

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɑɹpən/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɑːpən/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑː(ɹ)pən

Verb

sharpen (third-person singular simple present sharpens, present participle sharpening, simple past and past participle sharpened)

1. (transitive, sometimes figurative) To make sharp.

   to sharpen a pencil or a knife or a musical note

   • 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:

     He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill.

   • 2013 July 26, Leo Hickman, “How algorithms rule the world”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 7, page 26:

     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.

2. (intransitive) To become sharp.
   • 1990 February 4, Jennie McKnight, “Peruvian Politics Threaten Encuentro”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 2:

     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.

Synonyms

• hone (figurative sense)
• whet

Antonyms

• blunt
• blur

Derived terms

• sharpener
• sharpen up

Translations

to make sharp

• Arabic: شَحَذَ (šaḥaḏa)
• Armenian: սրել (hy) (srel)
• Azerbaijani: itiləmək (az)
• Basque: zorroztu
• Bulgarian: остря (bg) (ostrja), точа (bg) (toča)
• Burmese: ချွန် (my) (hkywan)
• Catalan: esmolar (ca), agusar (ca)
• Cherokee: ᎬᏟᎭ (gvtliha)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 磨 (zh) (mó), 削尖 (zh) (xuējiān) (pencil)

• Crimean Tatar: qayramaq
• Czech: ostřit impf
• Danish: skærpe
• Dutch: scherpen (nl), slijpen (nl), aanscherpen (nl)
• Esperanto: akrigi
• Estonian: ihuma hammast/hambaid (a tooth/teeth), teravdama (teravda), teritama (terita) pliiatsit (a pencil)
• Finnish: teroittaa (fi)
• French: affiler (fr), affûter (fr), aiguiser (fr)
• Friulian: spiçâ
• Galician: afiar (gl), aguzar (gl)
• Gallurese: arrudà
• Georgian: გალესვა (galesva), წაწვეტება (c̣ac̣veṭeba), წამახვა (c̣amaxva), მოპირვა (moṗirva)
• German: schärfen (de) (blade), spitzen (de) (pencil)
• Greek: ακονίζω (el) (akonízo)

  Ancient: ὀξύνω (oxúnō)

• Hindi: पैना करना (painā karnā)
• Hungarian: élesít (hu), (pencil) hegyez (hu), kihegyez (hu), (whet a knife) fen (hu), köszörül (hu)
• Indonesian: mengasah (id)
• Ingrian: hiuttaa, kirahuttaa
• Irish: faobhraigh, géaraigh
• Italian: arrotare (it), affilare (it), molare (it), affinare (it)
• Japanese: 研ぐ (ja) (とぐ, togu),　削る (ja) (けずる, kezuru) (pencil)
• Javanese: ngasah (jv)
• Kazakh: ұштау (ūştau)
• Khmer: សំរួច (sɑmruəc)
• Latin: acuō
• Luxembourgish: schäerfen, schläifen
• Macedonian: о́стри impf (óstri), то́чи impf (tóči), ши́ли (šíli)
• Malay: asah
• Maori: oroi, whakakoi, whakaratarata, whakangangahu (a sound or an image)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хурцлах (mn) (xurclax), ирлэх (mn) (irlex), билүүдэх (mn) (bilüüdex), үрэх (mn) (ürex), үзүүрлэх (mn) (üzüürlex) (pencil)

  Mongolian: ᠬᠤᠷᠴᠠᠯᠠᠬᠤ (qurčalaqu), ᠢᠷᠯᠡᠬᠦ (irlekü), ᠪᠢᠯᠡᠭᠦᠳᠡᠬᠦ (bilegüdekü), ᠦᠷᠦᠬᠦ (ürükü), ᠦᠵᠦᠭᠦᠷᠯᠡᠬᠦ (üǰügürlekü)

• Nanai: пивэ- (piwe-), сули- (suli-)
• Norman: appointchi (pencil)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: skjerpe, kvesse, hvesse

  Nynorsk: skjerpe, kvesse

• Occitan: amolar (oc), agusar (oc)
• Oromo: qaruu
• Polish: ostrzyć (pl) impf
• Portuguese: afiar (pt) (of a blade), apontar (pt) (of a point)
• Romanian: ascuți (ro)
• Russian: точи́ть (ru) impf (točítʹ), заточи́ть (ru) pf (zatočítʹ), наточи́ть (ru) pf (natočítʹ), поточи́ть (ru) pf (potočítʹ)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: arrodare

  Logudorese: arrodare

• Sassarese: arruddà
• Serbo-Croatian: šiljiti (sh)
• Slovene: šiliti impf, ošiliti pf
• Spanish: afilar (es), tajar (es) (pencil, Andes), sacar punta a (pencil), poner más nítido, nitidizar, nitificar
• Swedish: vässa (sv)
• Tausug: hasa
• Telugu: పదునుపెట్టు (padunupeṭṭu)
• Thai: ลับ (th) (láp) (of a blade), เหลา (th) (lǎo) (of a point)
• Ukrainian: заго́стрювати impf (zahóstrjuvaty), загостри́ти pf (zahostrýty)
• Vietnamese: mài (vi), vót (vi)
• Volapük: japükön (vo), (pencil) tipükön (vo)
• Walloon: rawijhî (wa), shinmî (wa), rishinmî (wa)

Anagrams

• Hapners, pherans