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

"She has turned into a hardened criminal, and shows no remorse for the brutality she has committed."

Read more on Barron's

Lining the side of the road were abandoned sandals, plastic water bottles hardened by the sun, and broken toys — remnants of the exodus in months gone by.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

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

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• seasoned www.thesaurus.com