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 Word Forms

• semihardened adjective
• unhardened adjective
• well-hardened adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of hardened¹

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

Example Sentences

The stag's antlers, now fully hardened and velvet‑free, regrow each spring, becoming more impressive with each year as new points called tines develop.

From BBC

But he cautions: "It remains a political aspiration, rather than a hardened military construct. The next couple of months will really test its resolve and political risk appetite".

From BBC

We fail to see how we’ve replaced entire ecological systems with our own hardened habitats, and then altered the shoreline even more once the shore began to disappear.

From Los Angeles Times

He has hardened his stance against the Kremlin in recent weeks, imposing a deadline of Friday 8 August for Russia to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine or face more sweeping sanctions.

From BBC

He failed, and his rhetoric towards Russia has since hardened.

From BBC

Related Words

• seasoned www.thesaurus.com