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
- semihardened adjective
- unhardened adjective
- well-hardened adjective
Etymology
Origin of hardened
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.
“It hardened the resolve in the region and cemented the alignment within the Gulf with the U.S.”
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
In mitigation, David Mason KC said the "hardened criminal" had "completely gone off the rails and got himself in a terrible, terrible situation".
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
“They’ve been hardened, apparently, by this war, and they don’t show any signs of yielding.”
From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026
Over time, the mineral deposits hardened the fractured zones into ridges.
From Science Daily • Mar. 14, 2026
She set both of her palms on Mia’s belly, as if offering a benediction, and Mia’s muscles tensed and hardened.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
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.
