sharpen

Word family

1 [intransitiveI, transitiveT]SHARP to make something have a sharper edge or point, or to become sharper （使）变锋利[尖锐]

Anne sharpened her pencil and got out her homework.

安妮把铅笔削尖，然后拿出家庭作业来。

2 [transitiveT]INCREASE IN ACTIVITY, FEELINGS ETC to make a feeling stronger and more urgent 使〔某种感觉〕增强，加强

A series of attacks have sharpened fears of more violence.

一连串的袭击事件使人们愈发担心会发生更多暴力事件。

3 [transitiveT] (also sharpen something ↔ up) to improve something so that it is up to the necessary standard, quality etc 使提高，使改进

The course will help students sharpen their writing skills.

这门课程将帮助学生提高写作技巧。

Examples from the Corpus

sharpen• Sharpen all your pencils before the test.• Below 200 K the chains are virtually immobile, but above 200 K the lines sharpen as rotation begins.• In the dying light other songbirds sharpen calls and phrases, some learned in far places, other continents.• Nick sat down at his desk, sharpened his pencil and began to draw.• Knock it senseless every hour when it raised its fanged head and decided to sharpen its nasty little claws.• My mother used a special stone to sharpen kitchen knives.• The images sharpened on screen as the camera focused.• Recent developments have given our leaders a sharpened sense of responsibility.• It wasn't electric, and they never sharpened the barbed wire at the top.• The resulting increase in production should sharpen the instructional focus of the materials.• A brief moon between clouds outside sharpened the lines of boxwood that led to the wooden gate.• This course will give students a chance to sharpen their problem-solving skills.• At San Quentin, Kirkpatrick stabbed one of his lawyers 17 times with a sharpened toothbrush.

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