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Glite Dictionary
🔪 To make sharp 🔍 To make clearer 🎵 To raise pitch
to sharpen

to sharpen

26 3.1
To make an idea, image, or argument clearer and more precise
  • verb
  • /ˈʃɑːrpən/
translation icon : afinar
  • Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.
  • sharpened our understanding
  • sharpened our awareness
  • sharpened their rhetoric

So we're just going to sharpen the jawline.

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Examples

  • The best way to sharpen your intuition is with experience.

    StarTalk

  • The workshop helped to sharpen my analytical skills through various exercises.

  • Maybe what we need is a clear cut case to sharpen our critical skills.

    Philosophy Tube

  • The purpose of models is not to fit the data, but to sharpen the questions.

    Lex Fridman

  • But I think it's examples like this that sort of sharpen the point on this.

  • Sharing ideas and responding to others' reactions sharpens thinking and deepens understanding.

    Academic text (2013)

  • Clear examples can sharpen the argument and make it more convincing.

  • These discussions will sharpen our understanding of the complex topic.

Synonyms

to focus
vsto sharpen
  • Specialized
219 3.8

To make an image or light clear and sharp

applies to making many things clearer or more precise beyond optics
to refine
vsto sharpen
93 4.0

Make something better by making a few small changes

produces direct, clearer definition and precision rather than slow polishing
to hone
vsto sharpen
8 5.5

To make a blade or tool sharp using a fine stone

is used for making images, sounds, or ideas clearer rather than edges
to focalize
vsto sharpen
7.9

To bring things or attention together at one clear point

seeks to make things clearer or more defined rather than just concentrating them

Antonyms

to obscure
86 7.0

Make something hard to see or understand

to blur
61 3.6

To make something hard to see or understand

to soften
50 3.1

Make something less strong or harsh

Phrasal Verbs

to sharpen focus
4.0

To make your attention clearer and stronger

to sharpen skills
3.9

To get better at a skill by practising

to sharpen someone's mind
5.0

To help someone think more clearly and quickly

How Clear

to crystallize
  • US
21 5.8
to sharpen
26 3.1
to clarify
248 3.3
to refine
93 4.0

Surface Forms

sharpen infinitive
sharpened past
sharpened past participle
sharpening present participle
sharpens third person singular

Morphology

sharpen = sharp (semi-transparent) = sharp + en

The meaning is a metaphorical extension from physical 'sharp' to 'more clear or precise', which is related but slightly non-literal for learners.

Etymology

Sharpen is also used for ideas and pictures and comes from sharp, which you can think of as 'clear' or 'exact', so to sharpen an argument or image is to make it more clear and precise.