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

According to the study, these dunes slowly hardened into rock billions of years ago after interacting with groundwater moving beneath the Martian surface.

From Science Daily • Mar. 15, 2026

He said the rank and file had been hardened “in the fight against corruption” and praised them as “entirely trustworthy.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 20, 2026

The streets quieted as they neared the road that led to the temple, but just before it, Kamau's expression hardened.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• seasoned