sharpen

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /ˈʃɑrpən/ UK /ˈʃɑːpən/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

verb
to make or become sharper, keener, or more acute

She paused to sharpen her pencil before the exam.

Verb forms

Verb forms are not available for this word yet.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 verb · to make or become sharper,... whet hone grind strop keen edge

Opposites

blunt dull

Word family

Derived forms sharpenersharpening

Related forms sharp sharpness

Etymology

From sharp plus the verb-forming suffix -en; sharp is from Old English scearp ('having a cutting edge'), from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ('to cut').

scearp Old English *skarpaz Proto-Germanic

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# sharpen

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** verb
**IPA (US):** /ˈʃɑrpən/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈʃɑːpən/

## Meanings
1. to make or become sharper, keener, or more acute

## Examples
- She paused to sharpen her pencil before the exam.

## Synonyms
- whet
- hone
- grind
- strop
- keen
- edge

## Antonyms
- blunt
- dull

## Derived Forms
- sharpener
- sharpening

## Related Forms
- sharp
- sharpness

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: scearp
- Root: *skarpaz
- Affix: -en - to make

## Etymology
From sharp plus the verb-forming suffix -en; sharp is from Old English scearp ('having a cutting edge'), from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ('to cut').

## AI Etymology
Sharpen comes from sharp plus the verb-forming suffix -en; sharp is from Old English scearp ('having a cutting edge'), from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- ('to cut'). The historical chain includes Old English scearp and Proto-Germanic *skarpaz. The quoted older senses, "having a cutting edge" and "to cut", supply the semantic anchors for sharpen. The formation is best read as suffixal and borrowed: the word sharpen carries its older form-history into a compact English lexical shape. In present English it is used as a verb, "to make or become sharper, keener, or more acute". English derivatives include sharpener and sharpening; related English forms include sharp and sharpness. The result is a verb whose etymology preserves both the older form and the later English specialization.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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