sharpen vs whet

sharpen and whet both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
sharpen	No	No	Yes	No
whet	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, whet is a hyponym of sharpen; that is, whet is a word with a more specific, narrower meaning than sharpen:

Other hyponyms of sharpen include strap, edge, strop, hone.

sharpen (verb)	whet (verb)
become sharp or sharper	sharpen by rubbing, as on a whetstone
make crisp or more crisp and precise	make keen or more acute
raise the pitch of (musical notes)
put (an image) into focus
make (one's senses) more acute
give a point to
make sharp or sharper
make (images or sounds) sharp or sharper