hardened
Americanadjective
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made or become hard or harder.
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pitiless; unfeeling.
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firmly established or unlikely to change; inveterate.
a hardened criminal.
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inured; toughened.
a hardened trooper.
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rigid; unyielding.
a hardened attitude.
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(of a missile base) equipped to launch missiles from underground silos.
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(of a missile) capable of being launched from an underground silo.
adjective
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rigidly set, as in a mode of behaviour
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toughened, as by custom; seasoned
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(of a nuclear missile site) constructed to withstand a nuclear attack
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hardened
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at harden, -ed 2
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.
There are divisions within the Taliban government on the issue of women's education which have been evident to us, but the supreme leader has only hardened his stance through the years.
From BBC • May 24, 2026
But that dinner, more than anything else, adds a hardened glaze of insult to Megan’s allegation that Thompson cheated on her.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026
This only accelerated the PCC’s national expansion and hardened its resolve.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026
But parts of northern Thailand are seeing haze that even hardened locals say is exceptional.
From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026
He made sure to sound like a hardened police officer and not a desperate father.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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.
