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hardened

[hahr-dnd]
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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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Origin of hardened

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at harden, -ed2
Related formssem·i·hard·ened, adjectiveun·hard·ened, adjectivewell-hard·ened, adjective

harden

[hahr-dn]
verb (used with object)
  1. to make hard or harder: to harden steel.
  2. to make pitiless or unfeeling: to harden one's heart.
  3. to make rigid or unyielding; stiffen: The rigors of poverty hardened his personality.
  4. to strengthen or confirm, especially with reference to character, intentions, feelings, etc.; reinforce.
  5. to make hardy, robust, or capable of endurance; toughen.
  6. Military. to reinforce the structure of (a military or strategic installation) to protect it from nuclear bombardment.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to become hard or harder.
  2. to become pitiless or unfeeling.
  3. to become rigid or unyielding; stiffen: His personality hardened over the years.
  4. to become confirmed or strengthened: His resistance hardened.
  5. to become inured or toughened: The troops hardened under constant fire.
  6. Commerce. (of a market, prices, etc.)
    1. to cease to fluctuate; firm: When the speculators withdrew from the market, the prices hardened.
    2. to rise higher.
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Origin of harden

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200; see origin at hard, -en1
Related formshard·en·a·ble, adjectivehard·en·a·bil·i·ty, nouno·ver·hard·en, verbpre·hard·en, verb (used with object)re·hard·en, verbun·hard·en, verb (used with object)un·hard·en·a·ble, adjective

Synonyms

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1. solidify, indurate; petrify, ossify. 4. fortify, steel, brace, nerve.

Antonyms

1. soften. 4. weaken.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words

seasonedcallouspreparedunbendingbenumbedaccustomedhabituatedinuredinduratedsteeledcontemptuouscrueldisdainfulhard-boiledhardheartedheartlessimpenetrableimpiousinaccessibleirreverent

Examples from the Web for hardened

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • Physically he had undoubtedly improved; his legs had hardened and smoothed down.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • The law represented the best that could be done with hardened hearts.

  • But Sapphira was "hardened through the deceitfulness of sin."

  • I am hardened now, I have sunk too low to care long even for that.'

    Little Dorrit

    Charles Dickens

  • He was hardened, steeped in guilt, and callous as to the sufferings of others.

    Henry Dunbar

    M. E. Braddon

British Dictionary definitions for hardened

hardened

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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harden1

verb
  1. to make or become hard or harder; freeze, stiffen, or set
  2. to make or become more hardy, tough, or unfeeling
  3. to make or become stronger or firmerthey hardened defences
  4. to make or become more resolute or sethardened in his resolve
  5. (intr) commerce
    1. (of prices, a market, etc) to cease to fluctuate
    2. (of price) to rise higher
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See also harden off, harden up

harden2

noun
  1. a rough fabric made from hards
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hardened

harden

n.

c.1200 (replacing Old English heardian) "to make (something) hard," from hard + -en (1). Meaning "to become hard" is late 14c. Related: Hardened (figurative sense of "unfeeling" is from late 14c.); hardening.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper