as in to harden
to make stronger (as through hardship)
She was annealed by the tragedies of her childhood.
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Recent Examples of anneal
Workable quantum solutions that make use of annealing systems are now in use.
—
Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
These services provide access to advanced quantum computing technologies, including annealing quantum computers with over 5,000 qubits and quantum-classical hybrid solvers capable of tackling complex problems involving up to one million variables.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Quantum annealing: This term is borrowed from annealing, a process that uses heat to alter the physical or chemical properties of a metal, glass, or plastic film to increase ductility and reduce hardness.
—Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2024
In this instance, after annealing, nanoplastic molecules are physically bound together with the molecules of tetracycline.
—Joe Salas, New Atlas, 3 Nov. 2024
Kaveh was certainly born a good person, but his overwhelming personal grace and the power of his art were annealed into their pure form by the white-hot fire of his addiction.
—Lauren Groff, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
Bound wafers and chips are then heated slowly (a process called annealing) to form stronger chemical bonds.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
And researchers from Applied Materials presented progress on a method to radically reduce the time needed for annealing—from hours to just 5 minutes.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
For applications requiring a more pure silica glass, the residual organics can be removed by annealing the structures at 900° Celsius (1,652° F)—an extra step, granted, but at a much lower temperature than the usual extra sintering step.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 7 July 2023
Chuck Brooks, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025
These services provide access to advanced quantum computing technologies, including annealing quantum computers with over 5,000 qubits and quantum-classical hybrid solvers capable of tackling complex problems involving up to one million variables.
—Trefis Team, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024
Quantum annealing: This term is borrowed from annealing, a process that uses heat to alter the physical or chemical properties of a metal, glass, or plastic film to increase ductility and reduce hardness.
—Ars Technica, 30 Oct. 2024
In this instance, after annealing, nanoplastic molecules are physically bound together with the molecules of tetracycline.
—Joe Salas, New Atlas, 3 Nov. 2024
Kaveh was certainly born a good person, but his overwhelming personal grace and the power of his art were annealed into their pure form by the white-hot fire of his addiction.
—Lauren Groff, TIME, 2 Oct. 2024
Bound wafers and chips are then heated slowly (a process called annealing) to form stronger chemical bonds.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
And researchers from Applied Materials presented progress on a method to radically reduce the time needed for annealing—from hours to just 5 minutes.
—IEEE Spectrum, 4 June 2024
For applications requiring a more pure silica glass, the residual organics can be removed by annealing the structures at 900° Celsius (1,652° F)—an extra step, granted, but at a much lower temperature than the usual extra sintering step.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 7 July 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for anneal
Verb
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Remember, this isn’t about gaming the system—you’re hardening your company.—
Gabriel Labrada,
Forbes.com,
5 June 2025
-
Wilders last week held a rare, formal press conference to present the government with an ultimatum for hardening the country’s asylum policy – despite the fact that the minister for asylum and migration is a member of his own party.—
Mick Krever,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
Verb
-
Establish security standards and procedures while participating in building and strengthening cybersecurity teams.—
Caroline Castrillon,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2025
-
Police Chief Neil Noakes spent two decades in uniform, working to reduce violent crimes, support officers’ mental wellness, and strengthen trust in Fort Worth.—
Shambhavi Rimal,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 May 2025
Verb
-
Lawmakers should strengthen existing incentives for states and cities to adopt resilience measures—fortifying homes against wind, hail, flooding, and wildfires—to lower costs for both property owners and insurance companies when disasters strike.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 May 2025
-
Other studies show that tea decreased iron absorption from wheat bread fortified with ferrous sulfate or ferrous fumarate by 56 to 72%.1 Individual variation: Still, additional research is necessary to establish the best time to drink tea without affecting iron absorption.—
Melissa Nieves,
Verywell Health,
21 May 2025
Verb
-
That said, ByteDance’s growth was slightly tempered in 2024 compared to 2023, when the company grew its revenue from $80 billion to nearly $120 billion.—
TrueBridge Capital,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2025
-
Supporting players are well cast across the board, with Williamson wisely tempering his character’s heartfelt exhortations to trust God so that Charlie comes across as supportive, not preachy.—
Joe Leydon,
Variety,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
The company’s shares have risen more than 7% this week as Meta’s deal to buy nuclear power from Constellation Energy has reinforced the view that demand is increasing as the tech sector hunts for electricity for its data centers.—
Spencer Kimball,
CNBC,
6 June 2025
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As the fireline is constructed, inspected or reinforced, mappers record those details to adjust the containment percentage.—
CA WILDFIRE BOT,
Sacbee.com,
6 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Anneal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/anneal. Accessed 11 Jun. 2025.
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