annealing

an·neal  (-nl)

v. an·nealed, an·neal·ing, an·neals

v.tr.

1. To subject (glass or metal) to a process of heating and slow cooling in order to toughen and reduce brittleness.

2. To strengthen or harden.

v.intr.

To become strengthened or hardened: "the time she needed for opinion to anneal around her policy" (Alexander M. Haig, Jr.)

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[Middle English anelen, from Old English onlan, to set fire to : on, on; see on + lan, to kindle.]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

annealing - hardening something by heat treatment tempering hardening - the act of making something harder (firmer or tighter or more compact)

Translations

annealing [əˈniːlɪŋ] n (of glass, metal) → ricottura