hardened

alternative obsolete harden'd

1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of harden

comparative more hardened · superlative most hardened · alternative obsolete harden'd

1. Made physically hard.

   hardened steel

2. Having been accustomed or desensitized to something unpleasant through exposure or experience; inured.

   hardened police officers

   Synonyms: habituated, toughened, hard-bitten

3. Unfeeling; pitiless; callous.

   The bloody scene could reduce even the most hardened soldier to tears.

   2 more examples

   In the past, Lutao was considered somewhat mysterious, because of the national penitentiary which housed the most hardened criminals, and the restrictions on travel to the island, which have since been loosened.

   Free China Weekly

   1983 April 17, “Progress for Green Island”, in 自由中國週報 [Free China Weekly], volume XXIV, number 15, Taipei, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2, column 3

   Hardened royalists staged a protest against Amnesty International Thailand at Silom Complex on Monday. The group said that the human rights watchdog is undermining the country’s stability by campaigning for the rights of the detained protest leaders who are calling for the reformation of the royal institution.

   2021 November 29, Erich Parpart, “Ultra royalists condemn Amnesty International, call for their removal”, in Thai Enquirer, Thai Enquirer, retrieved 29 Nov 2021

   Synonyms: harsh, severe, brutal, callous, cold, insensate, hardhanded, cold-eyed

4. Firmly established in a behavior seen as bad; unlikely to change one's ways; inveterate.

   hardened criminals

5. computingHaving extra defences against attack; highly fortified.

   a hardened server

   1 more example

   a hardened air base