case-harden
Britishverb
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metallurgy to form a hard surface layer of high carbon content on (a steel component) by heating in a carburizing environment with subsequent quenching or heat treatment
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to harden the spirit or disposition of; make callous
experience had case-hardened the judge
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Many woods, however, check severely in air-drying or case-harden in the air.
From Seasoning of Wood by Wagner, J. B. (Joseph Bernard)
You have not been long enough in India to case-harden into the cursed egotism of this hard-hearted land, and remember, age, crawling on, has indurated old 'Fraser-Johnstone.'
From A Fascinating Traitor An Anglo-Indian Story by Savage, Richard
But time and earth case-harden us to live; the feeblest sense is trusted most: the child feels God a moment, ichors o'er the place, plays on and grows to be a man like us.
From An Introduction to the Study of Robert Browning's Poetry by Corson, Hiram
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
