a. (-'nd)
1. Made hard, or harder, or compact; made unfeeling or callous; made obstinate or obdurate; confirmed in error or vice.
2. Rendered resistant to the effects of nearby explosions; as, a hardened missile silo; hardened warhead electronics.
[PJC]
3. Experienced and inured to hardship; as, hardened combat troops.
[PJC]
4. Strongly habituated to a certain type of behavior, and unlikely to change; as, a hardened criminal. Usually used only of behavior perceived negatively.
[PJC]
Syn. -- Impenetrable; hard; obdurate; callous; unfeeling; unsusceptible; insensible. See
