harden (one's) heart
To stop or cause one to stop feeling kindness and compassion. I worry that all the trauma she's already been through at such a young age will harden her heart. When you see these kinds of heinous atrocities every day, it hardens your heart, no matter how much you wish it didn't. Please don't let this tragic loss harden your heart.
harden (one's) heart against (someone or something)
1. To stop feeling kindness and compassion toward someone or something. Don't harden your heart against people who need our help. It's not their fault they're in that situation. A: "Do you know what hardened his heart against his mother?" B: "Well, she wasn't around for most of his childhood and teen years. I suspect that has something to do with it." When charitable organizations steal your money like that, it really does harden your heart against them.
2. To cause one to stop feeling kindness and compassion toward someone or something. I worry that all the trauma she's already been through at such a young age will harden her heart against other people. Please don't let this tragic loss harden your heart against adopting another pet. Nothing will harden your heart against love and romance quite like a devastating break-up.
harden (oneself) to (something)
To ready or prepare oneself, often emotionally, for a difficult or unpleasant experience. How can I, as a therapist, ever harden myself to the pain of others? We all need to harden ourselves to the seriousness of Aunt Louise's diagnosis. The sooner Bill hardens himself to the reality that his marriage is over, the better—for his sake.
harden off
To systematically expose a young plant to outdoor conditions so that it adapts well when moved outside permanently. A noun or pronoun can be used between "harden" and "off." That delicate plant won't survive outside unless you harden it off first. The guy at the nursery said we need to harden the plant off before we try to move it outside permanently. I can barely keep an orchid alive indoors, and you want to harden it off? Are you nuts?
harden up
1. To cause something to become physically harder or more solid. In this usage, a noun or pronoun is used between "harden" and "up." The tub of ice cream was melting, so I stuck it in the freezer to harden it up. Once you solder the joints, that'll harden them up and fuse them together. Once you're done shaping your vase, we'll put it in the kiln to harden it up.
2. To become physically harder or more solid. If the ice cream is melting, stick it in the freezer for a bit so it hardens up. Hey, clear off the steps before that slush hardens up into ice. The nurse warned me to be careful because it would take a bit of time for the cast on my arm to fully harden up.
hardened criminal
Someone whose own experience as a criminal has made them less affected by extreme criminal acts. Be careful dealing with One-Eyed Jack. He's a hardened criminal who won't think twice about killing anyone who stands in his way. I can't believe Betty has become a hardened criminal who would take innocent children as hostages! My father's in jail for tax evasion. He made a massive mistake, for sure, but he's not some sort of hardened criminal.
the same fire that melts the butter hardens the egg
The same experience will trigger different reactions in people (perhaps toughening some and causing others to weaken or fail). A: "How is Casey completely fine after the car accident, and I'm still terrified to drive?" B: "Well, the same fire that melts the butter hardens the egg, you know. It's OK to feel differently than she does."
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
harden oneself to something
Fig. to make oneself capable of bearing something unpleasant. You will have to learn to harden yourself to tragedies like this. They happen every day in a hospital. She had learned to harden herself to the kinds of poverty she had to work in.
harden something off
to accustom a young plant to normal weather so it can be moved from a protected environment to the out-of-doors. We put the plants by the open window to harden them off. We hardened off the plants.
harden something up
to make something hard or strong. Put the meat in the freezer awhile to harden it up before you try to slice it thin. Harden up the ice cream a little in the freezer.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.