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

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

From Barron's

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

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

From The Wall Street Journal

Demands have also hardened on the other side.

From BBC

“They’ve been hardened, apparently, by this war, and they don’t show any signs of yielding.”

From Salon

Related Words

• seasoned