anneal
an.neal \*-'ne-(*)l\ vt [ME anelen, fr. OE on-lan, fr. on + |B-lan to set on fire, burn, fr. a-l fire; akin to OE a-d funeral pyre - more at EDIFY 1: to heat (as glass) in order to fix laid-on colors 2: to heat and then cool usu. for softening and rendering less brittle 3: STRENGTHEN, TOUGHEN {was ~ed by hardship}