1
toughen sb/sth
toughen 作及物动词时，直接接名词或代词作宾语，表示“使……变得坚韧/顽强”。
These experiences toughened him.
这些经历使他变得坚强。
使变得坚韧；使变得顽强
toughening — present participle of toughen
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
使变得坚韧；使变得顽强
make or become tough or tougher
These experiences toughened him.
这些经历使他变得坚强。
既可指使物体变坚韧，也可指使人变得顽强。
使变坚韧；使强硬。
To make tough.
变得坚韧；变硬
To become tough.
toughen
Base
原形
toughens
3rd person
第三人称单数
toughening
-ing
现在分词
toughened
Past
过去式
toughened
Past participle
过去分词
Physical exercise toughens the body.
体育锻炼使身体变得强健。
The training toughened them for the competition.
那次训练让他们为比赛变得更强韧。
Her experiences have toughened her.
她的经历使她变得坚强了。
规则动词；toughen 意为“使…变坚韧、变坚强”，常用于谈论锻炼、经历或规则。过去式和过去分词均为 toughened。
The coach designed this training program to toughen the players before the final match.
教练设计这个训练计划是为了在决赛前让球员们变得更坚韧。
Daily walking on rough paths will toughen your leg muscles.
每天在崎岖的小路上行走会使你的腿部肌肉变得更结实。
Years of managing a small business have toughened his character.
多年经营小生意使他的性格变得坚强了。
toughen 作及物动词时，直接接名词或代词作宾语，表示“使……变得坚韧/顽强”。
These experiences toughened him.
这些经历使他变得坚强。
toughen 可作不及物动词，不带宾语，表示主语自身变得坚硬、坚韧或顽强。
The skin on his hands had toughened from years of work.
他手上的皮肤因多年劳作而变得粗糙坚韧。
Not this
Daily exercise toughs your muscles.
Use this
Daily exercise toughens your muscles.
tough 是形容词，不能直接作动词；表示“使……变得坚韧”要用动词 toughen（形容词加 -en 构成动词），所以此处应该用第三人称单数 toughens。
Not this
The setback has toughened.
Use this
The setback has toughened him.
toughen 表示“使某人/某物变得坚韧”时是及物动词，后面必须接宾语。若省略宾语，句子就变成“挫折本身变强硬了”，与想表达的意思不符，所以要补上宾语 him。
Not this
The coach toughs the team before the match.
Use this
The coach toughens the team before the match.
tough 是形容词，不能带宾语；要表达“使团队变坚强/顽强”应该用动词 toughen，而且主语 coach 是第三人称单数，所以用 toughens。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
（使）变坚强；（使）强硬起来
Living alone has really toughened her up.
独自生活真的让她变得坚强了。
加强安保
The airport decided to toughen security after the incident.
事件发生后，机场决定加强安保。
加重处罚
The government plans to toughen penalties for drunk driving.
政府计划加重对酒驾的处罚。
严化法律；使法律更严格
Many citizens want the city to toughen its pollution laws.
许多市民希望该市严化污染法规。
使皮肤变坚韧
Working outdoors can toughen the skin over time.
长期在户外工作会使皮肤逐渐变得坚韧。
变得坚强；强硬起来
She told him to toughen up and stop complaining about every little thing.
她对他说，要坚强起来，别为每件小事抱怨。
（使）态度变得强硬
The government has toughened its stance on online privacy violations.
政府已对侵犯网络隐私的行为采取更加强硬的立场。
Use toughening naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
记法：tough（坚韧）加 -en（使…）就是 toughen（使坚韧）。想象皮革在锻炼中变得 toughened，更结实耐用。
语域：neutral 常见场景：materials and manufacturing、law and policy、personal development 该词为中性动词，正式和非正式场合都较常见，具体语气随搭配变化：toughen up 偏口语，toughen laws/rules 多用于正式或新闻语体。通常表示使更坚韧、更严格或更有抵抗力。
这些词中，roughen /ˈrʌfən/ 与 toughen /ˈtʌfən/ 押韵（重读元音和后续音相同）；tough /tʌf/ 是 toughen 的词根，但不是完整同韵。注意：soften /ˈsɒfən/ 和 often /ˈɒfən/ 里的 t 不发音，且元音与 toughen 不同；cough /kɒf/ 和 dough /doʊ/ 的 -ough 分别读 /ɒf/ 和 /oʊ/，不能照 tough 的拼读猜。
Dictionary facts from ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.