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
Etymology
Origin of hardened
Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; see origin at harden, -ed 2
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.
And the intensifying competition with the U.S. has hardened his resolve to set China on a course of self-sufficiency from energy to semiconductors and to limit foreign influence.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026
In the Dulais Valley, Geraint Evans believe plans for large-scale wind and solar farms in rural areas have hardened people's attitudes to net zero.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
But that dinner, more than anything else, adds a hardened glaze of insult to Megan’s allegation that Thompson cheated on her.
From Salon • Apr. 30, 2026
“It hardened the resolve in the region and cemented the alignment within the Gulf with the U.S.”
From Barron's • Mar. 30, 2026
I clawed at the hardened plastic so hard, I broke one of my chipped orange fingernails.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
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.
