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 • 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

U.S. bases and installations throughout the Indo-Pacific—such as in Japan, the Philippines and Guam—are in desperate need of hardened aircraft shelters, air defenses, reinforced munitions storage bunkers and fuel bladders.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

From this he cut off a good piece, and then he and his men sharpened it and hardened the point by turning it round and round in the fire.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

• seasoned