hardened

[hahr-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.

hardened

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• semihardened adjective
• unhardened adjective
• well-hardened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardened¹

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

Example Sentences

“People buying manuals are this hardened core of enthusiasts,” Stokes said, laughing.

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But critics say 25 years in power have hardened Kagame’s edges.

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In fact, being at the centre of a storm about free speech seems to have hardened his resolve.

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In the decades since the Oslo Accords, Israeli narratives have hardened, armed Palestinian groups have strengthened, and the control of the Palestinian Authority government has been eaten away.

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What had been promised as a program to rid the country of hardened criminals was, right out of the gate, proven to be a sham.

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Related Words

• seasoned www.thesaurus.com