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.

---

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

---

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

“It hardened the resolve in the region and cemented the alignment within the Gulf with the U.S.”

From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026

Demands have also hardened on the other side.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

City life has hardened her daughters and granddaughters in all the wrong ways and made them too soft in others.

From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026

Inside the hardened plaque, they found microscopic remains of cereals, legumes, plant fibers, and yeast spores.

From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2026

He made sure to sound like a hardened police officer and not a desperate father.

From "City Spies" by James Ponti

Related Words

• seasoned