hardened

American  

[hahr-dnd] / ˈhɑr 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.

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hardened British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• semihardened adjective
• unhardened adjective
• well-hardened adjective

Etymology

Origin of hardened

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

Example Sentences

But parts of northern Thailand are seeing haze that even hardened locals say is exceptional.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

Demands have also hardened on the other side.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

Shredded cheese can also be whisked in or sprinkled immediately after the egg mixture hits the pan to create a slightly hardened top layer.

From Salon • Mar. 21, 2026

U.S. bases and installations throughout the Indo-Pacific—such as in Japan, the Philippines and Guam—are in desperate need of hardened aircraft shelters, air defenses, reinforced munitions storage bunkers and fuel bladders.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Whoever they were, they were rough, hardened men who looked like they’d been living in the jungle for a long time, eating what they could scrounge, sleeping on the ground.

From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge

Related Words

• seasoned