toughen up
Become more resilient
Toughen up means to become stronger, more resilient, or less sensitive to hardship or criticism.
It often appears as advice or a command directed at someone perceived as too soft or emotionally vulnerable: You need to toughen up if you want to survive in this industry.
The phrase can also describe a deliberate process of building physical or mental endurance: Boot camp is designed to toughen up new recruits.
When said dismissively, it carries connotations of unsympathetic machismo.
- hardenMake or become firm
- man upEmbrace toughness, colloquially
- fortifyMake stronger against threat
- strengthenMake more robust
- steel yourselfPrepare mentally for difficulty
pull yourself together · brace · thick skin · gut check · bite the bullet · grin and bear it · fortitude · grit · perseverance · roll with the punches · stiffen up · backbone · resilience · resolve · tenacity · boldness · no pain no gain · reinforce
- strengthenstrengthen, reinforce, fortify, bolster, shore up
- motivational phrasesdream big, try harder, no excuses, overcome, improve
- snap out of itsnap out of it, get a grip, get it together, shake it off, wake up
toughen upbreak down
Fail mechanically or emotionally
fall apart · crumble · buckle · lose your nerve · lose heart
toughen uppamper yourself
Lavish care upon oneself
wallow · take it easy · make excuses · take the easy way out
tough, toughness, toughen, tougher, toughest, toughened, toughening, toughens, toughly