hardened

American  

[hahr-dnd] / ˈhɑr dnd /

adjective

1. made or become hard or harder.

2. pitiless; unfeeling.

3. firmly established or unlikely to change; inveterate.

   a hardened criminal.

4. inured; toughened.

   a hardened trooper.

5. rigid; unyielding.

   a hardened attitude.

6. (of a missile base) equipped to launch missiles from underground silos.

7. (of a missile) capable of being launched from an underground silo.

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hardened British  

/ ˈhɑːdənd /

adjective

1. rigidly set, as in a mode of behaviour

2. toughened, as by custom; seasoned

3. (of a nuclear missile site) constructed to withstand a nuclear attack

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Other Word Forms

• semihardened adjective
• unhardened adjective
• well-hardened adjective

Etymology

Origin of hardened

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; harden, -ed ²

Example Sentences

“It hardened the resolve in the region and cemented the alignment within the Gulf with the U.S.”

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

City life has hardened her daughters and granddaughters in all the wrong ways and made them too soft in others.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

Over time, the mineral deposits hardened the fractured zones into ridges.

From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026

At times, his position appears to have hardened against Russia.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

Haitian doctors, who were used to seeing death, became even more hardened or indifferent to the suffering around them.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

Related Words

• seasoned