sharpen

verb

1. (figuratively, sometimes, transitive)To make sharp.

   “to sharpen a pencil or a knife or a musical note”

   “He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill.”

   “The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives.[…]who, if anyone, is policing their use. Such concerns were sharpened further by the continuing revelations about how the US National Security Agency (NSA) has been using algorithms to help it interpret the colossal amounts of data it has collected from its covert dragnet of international telecommunications.”

2. (intransitive)To become sharp.

   “The organizers said they had found themselves "more involved in the web of social convulsions and violence that is tormenting our country. The present economic crisis, the grave political instability and the rapidly sharpening violence have finally overtaken […] our wishes.”