'Sharpening' definitions:
Definition of 'Sharpening'
From: GCIDE
- Sharpen \Sharp"en\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Sarpened; p. pr. & vb. n. Sharpening.] [See Sharp, a.] To make sharp. Specifically: (a) To give a keen edge or fine point to; to make sharper; as, to sharpen an ax, or the teeth of a saw. (b) To render more quick or acute in perception; to make more ready or ingenious. [1913 Webster]
- The air . . . sharpened his visual ray To objects distant far. --Milton. [1913 Webster]
- He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill. --Burke. [1913 Webster] (c) To make more eager; as, to sharpen men's desires. [1913 Webster]
- Epicurean cooks Sharpen with cloyless sauce his appetite. --Shak. [1913 Webster] (d) To make more pungent and intense; as, to sharpen a pain or disease. (e) To make biting, sarcastic, or severe. "Sharpen each word." --E. Smith. (f) To render more shrill or piercing. [1913 Webster]
- Inclosures not only preserve sound, but increase and sharpen it. --Bacon. [1913 Webster] (g) To make more tart or acid; to make sour; as, the rays of the sun sharpen vinegar. (h) (Mus.) To raise, as a sound, by means of a sharp; to apply a sharp to. [1913 Webster]