hardened

[ hahr-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

/ 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 Words From

• semi·hardened adjective
• un·hardened adjective
• well-hardened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardened¹

Middle English word dating back to 1325–75; harden, -ed ²

Example Sentences

Soon thereafter Vi is abandoned by yet another trusted loved one, while Caitlyn is rewarded for her hardened attitude against Zaun with raucous applause and a promotion.

From Salon

The balls had a firm surface - hardened partially by accumulating sand and minerals like calcium - and a soft core.

From BBC

But if most legal distinctions between classes in America were officially banished in 1789 — among white people, that is — considerable inequality of wealth and capital not only remained, but increased and hardened in place.

From Salon

A study in juxtaposition, the soft vulnerability of a melty dumpling is hardened in black lacquer, fixed in time and space.

From Los Angeles Times

He has a dark sense of humour and seems hardened by the near-decade of smuggling that enables him to bypass the possible consequences of what he does.

From BBC

Related Words

• coldhearted
• seasoned