durcir

to harden

verb door-SEER Rare

Also means

to toughen

Usage Note

Durcir is a regular -ir verb following the finir pattern. It can be transitive (le froid durcit le sol, the cold hardens the ground) or reflexive (la situation se durcit, the situation is hardening). In politics and negotiation, durcir sa position means 'to take a harder line'. The related noun durcissement ('hardening, toughening') appears frequently in news contexts.

Examples

"Le béton durcit en quelques heures."

Natural Translation

The concrete hardens in a few hours.

Related Words

Explore French by topic

FrenchNow

En, Au, Aux: French Prepositions for Countries

Use en for feminine countries, au for masculine, aux for plural, and à for cities. Full French preposition rule for countries, with a lookup table and traps.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

Sorry in French: Désolé vs Pardon vs Excusez-moi

Use désolé for genuine regret, pardon to bump or squeeze past, and excusez-moi to get attention. A situation-by-situation guide to saying sorry in French.

June 4, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Noun Gender: Rules to Guess Right 80%

Guess French noun gender right 80% of the time using word endings: -age, -ment, -eau are masculine; -tion, -té, -ette are feminine. A high-yield system.

June 3, 2026 5 min read

FrenchNow

French Object Pronouns: le, la, lui, leur Order

Le lui or lui le? Use the à-name test to pick le/la vs lui/leur, then one slot chart to order two French object pronouns — plus the command exception.

June 4, 2026 6 min read