the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
adj. That strengthens; giving or increasing strength.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. the act of increasing the strength of something
n. becoming stronger
Word Usage
"Whether it was the venison, which we call a strengthening victual, or whether it was the Exmoor mutton, or the keen soft air of the moorlands, anyhow the Doones increased much faster than their honesty."