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.

We have hardened our infrastructure and built an oil pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

At times, his position appears to have hardened against Russia.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2026

In the years since, the 1,500 tents that housed them have hardened into more permanent structures.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 21, 2025

Attitudes toward migration have hardened in Germany as large numbers of asylum-seekers have arrived, in addition to refugees from Ukraine, and local authorities have struggled to find accommodation.

From Seattle Times • May 12, 2024

He stops chewing and stares at me silently with those eyes that have hardened a little every month he has spent here; now they look like the bark of a palm tree, unyielding.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie