Versterken

to strengthen, reinforce, fortify, amplify/boost 
[verb]
[ver-ster-ken, ver-sterk-te, ver-sterkt]

amplifier-768536_640“Versterken” is the general verb for “to strengthen”. It is often used in the translation of ‘to reinforce’ and ‘to amplify’. However when you are in a “Lord of the Rings” role-playing game, you may want to “versterken” your fortress. The noun is “versterking”. A related noun you may encounter is “versterker” (‘amplifier’ or ‘(signal) repeater’).

Examples:
– “Als ik naar dit soort zielige films kijk, versterkt dat mijn gevoel van neerslachtigheid alleen maar…” 
(“When I watch sad movies like these, it only reinfoces my feelings of dejection/depression.”)

– “Mijn tv-ontvangst is heel matig.” – “Heb je al geprobeerd het signaal te versterken?” 
(“My TV reception is very poor.” – “Have you tried to amplify the signal?”)

– “Het beroepsleger werd versterkt met huurlingen, maar de commandant slaagde er niet in een eenheid van soldaten te creëren.” 
(“The regular/professional army was reinforced with mercenaries, but the commander failed to create a tight group of soldiers.”)

– “Zijn getuigenis heeft bij mij de indruk versterkt dat het hele verhaal uit de duim is gezogen!” 
(“His testimony reinforced my impression that the whole story was made up!” Lit. “reinforces the impression with me that the whole story was sucked out of the thumb!”)

– “Ik heb mijn bagagedrager versterkt, maar ik denk niet dat ik iemand achterop kan nemen.” 
(“I’ve reinforced my bicycle’s (luggage) carrier, but I don’t think that I can transport somebody.” This is a typical Dutch bicycle sentence. Without context, a ‘bagagedrager’ is always the ‘luggage carrier’ of a bicycle. “Iemand achterop nemen” literally translates as ‘to take somebody on the back’ which sounds weird, I admit 🙂 . Riding a (city) bicycle with a second person sitting on the (luggage) carrier is customary in Dutch cities, however it is officially not allowed 🙂 Also, typically Dutch bicycle warranty does not cover defects that result from transporting another person.)

Related words:
– Versterking: reinforcement, fortification [noun] [de versterking, de versterkingen].
– Versterker: amplifier, repeater, intensifier [noun] [de versterker, de versterkers].

Example:
– “Sander heeft thuis een antenneversterker aangesloten, maar ‘interactieve TV’ van UPC werkt nog niet helaas!”
(“Sander has installed a signal repeater at home, but unfortunately ‘interactive TV’ by UPC still doesn’t work!”)

– Sterk: strong [adjective].
– Erger maken: to make worse, to exacerbate [verb] [maakte erger, erger gemaakt].