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- Dictionaryhardened/ˈhɑːdnd/
adjective
- 1. having become or been made hard or harder: "hardened steel"
- 2. very experienced in a particular job or activity and therefore not easily upset by its more unpleasant aspects: "hardened police officers" Similar Opposite
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used to describe someone who has had a lot of bad experiences and as a result no longer gets upset or shocked: hardened detectives / reporters. [ before noun ] no longer likely to change a bad way of life or feel sorry about it: a hardened criminal. be/become hardened to something.
adjective. made or become hard or harder. pitiless; unfeeling. firmly established or unlikely to change; inveterate: a hardened criminal. inured; toughened: a hardened trooper. rigid; unyielding: a hardened attitude. (of a missile base) equipped to launch missiles from underground silos.
1. : to become hard or harder. 2. a. : to become firm, stable, or settled. b. : to assume an appearance of harshness or severity. her face hardened at the thought.
1. To become hard or harder. 2. To become fixed, settled, or less subject to change: "Her early skepticism has hardened into cynicism" (Kelly Braffet). 3. To become inured. 4. To take on a disapproving or severe appearance: His face hardened with suspicion. 5. To rise and become stable. Used of prices.
to become more severe, determined, or unpleasant: Living in the desert hardened the recruits (= made them more strong and determined). As the war progressed, attitudes on both sides hardened (= became more severe and determined). SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases.
If you describe someone as hardened, you mean that they have had so much experience of something bad or unpleasant that they are no longer affected by it in the way that other people would be. ...hardened criminals. ...hardened politicians. More Synonyms of hardened. Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
verb (used without object) to become hard or harder. to become pitiless or unfeeling. to become rigid or unyielding; stiffen: His personality hardened over the years. to become confirmed or strengthened: His resistance hardened. to become inured or toughened: The troops hardened under constant fire.
