Definition

1. Verb:
   • To heat and then cool (a material, especially metal or glass) slowly in order to remove internal stresses and make it stronger and less brittle: This is the primary technical meaning, referring to a controlled thermal process.
   • To strengthen or toughen something through a process of gradual heating and cooling: This definition extends the core concept to a more general sense of strengthening.

Usage

• The verb anneal is used primarily in technical, industrial, and scientific contexts (e.g., metallurgy, glassmaking, materials science).
• It is a transitive verb, requiring a direct object (e.g., , ).
• The process involves a specific cycle: heating the material to a precise temperature, holding it, and then cooling it at a controlled rate.

Examples

• Verb:
  • The manufacturer will anneal the copper wire to make it more ductile.
  • To remove the stresses from the welded joint, you must anneal it.
  • This type of glass is easily cracked unless it is properly annealed.

Advanced Usage

• "to anneal something to something": This structure can be used to indicate the purpose or desired property achieved by annealing.
  • The blade was annealed to a specific hardness for durability.
• In a figurative or literary sense, anneal can describe toughening or hardening through experience.
  • The hardships of his youth annealed his character, making him resilient. (Note: This is an extended, metaphorical use.)

Variants and Related Words

• Annealing (n): The process or act of annealing.
  • The annealing of the silicon wafer is a critical step in chip fabrication.
• Annealer (n): A person who performs annealing or a machine/furnace used for annealing.

Synonyms

• Temper: Often used interchangeably in contexts involving metal or glass, though technical processes may differ slightly.
• Heat-treat: A broader term that includes annealing as one specific type of heat treatment.
• Strengthen: A general synonym, especially for the figurative sense.

Antonyms

• Quench: To cool rapidly, often making a material harder but more brittle (the opposite of the slow cooling in annealing).
• Weaken: To reduce strength.

Related Phrases / Idioms

• Process annealing: A specific type of annealing used to soften metal for further cold working.
• Full anneal: An annealing process that produces a soft, ductile material.
• Annealing temperature: The specific temperature to which a material is heated during the process.

Verb

1. bring to a desired consistency, texture, or hardness by a process of gradually heating and cooling
   • temper glass