How to Use toughen in a Sentence

toughen

verb
  • The government is toughening antidrug laws.
  • That comes from the ocean wind that toughens the skin of these grapes.
    — Bruce Schoenfeld, WIRED, 30 May 2018
  • His skin toughened against the acidic pulp that the plant spat when cleaved.
    — Tucker Harris, Washington Post, 23 Jan. 2024
  • Over the last three months, at least eight states have toughened their gun laws.
    — Benjamin Hart, Daily Intelligencer, 2 June 2018
  • Roger tried again to take me to a local gym to toughen me up.
    — Marc Myers, WSJ, 23 Oct. 2018
  • Be sure to leave your modesty at home and toughen up your skin.
    — Madeleine Marr, miamiherald, 30 Apr. 2018
  • These can dry out or toughen quickly.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 13 Aug. 2025
  • If the new black boxes prove tricky, there will be time to toughen the rules.
    — The Economist, 15 Feb. 2018
  • The Hawks didn’t just force the Knicks to toughen up.
    — Kristian Winfield, New York Daily News, 2 May 2026
  • The changes would also toughen oversight for a wider group of large banks.
    — Rob Copeland, New York Times, 10 July 2023
  • Either toughen up or use a mixer.
    — Emily Elias, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Apr. 2026
  • The young Americans will have to toughen up and get through it.
    — Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 30 Aug. 2021
  • Many of them urged the shah to toughen up and crack down harder on protesters.
    — Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 2 June 2026
  • As the lawsuits wended through the courts, the state was moving to toughen the law.
    — Maya Miller, ProPublica, 26 Oct. 2020
  • Curing can toughen the skin, heal minor cuts, and extend its shelf life.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 17 Oct. 2025
  • As for how the lizards managed to toughen up so quickly, the researchers aren’t yet sure.
    — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Jan. 2020
  • Her soulful stylings and outrageous rock-outs would toughen me up.
    — Odie Henderson, BostonGlobe.com, 25 May 2023
  • Sometimes the shrimp at the edges of the pan had curled and toughened by the time the ones in the middle cooked through.
    — Melissa Clark, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 June 2024
  • Curing toughens the skin and helps heal small cuts, extending the squash's shelf life.
    — Katie Rosenhouse, Southern Living, 4 Jan. 2026
  • As the garlic matures, the green stalks will toughen like a leek, in which case the stalks should be omitted.
    — Lynda Balslev, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Baynes will give the Suns an edge and toughen up Ayton in practice.
    — Duane Rankin, azcentral, 3 July 2019
  • DeWine plans to ask the legislature to toughen state laws for felons found with guns.
    — Sharon Coolidge, Cincinnati.com, 23 July 2019
  • Just be sure to stick to the 30-minute marinade in any case, since going longer can toughen the flesh.
    — Anya Tchoupakov, Bon Appetit, 28 Aug. 2017
  • Erivo toughened it up with a blazer leather maxi coat and sky-high silver platform heels.
    — Anna Cafolla, Vogue, 27 Oct. 2025
  • At that time, lawmakers were looking to toughen the penalties for gun crime.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 8 Feb. 2023
  • His son's unit might have wanted to toughen his son up, Paul Clyde reasoned.
    — Jennifer Emily, Dallas News, 19 June 2019
  • Silver chrome and chain-link details toughen up an otherwise serene, jade green set.
    — Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 12 Apr. 2026
  • The shift in public opinion comes as leading health groups toughen their advice.
    — Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 20 Aug. 2025
  • 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
  • To be fair, Tommy did tell her to toughen up when taking over the company!
    — William Earl, Variety, 14 Dec. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'toughen.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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