CASE-HARDENED Synonyms: 153 Similar and Opposite Words

case-hardened 1 of 2

adjective

as in ruthless

having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings a case-hardened homicide detective who has seen it all

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case-hardened

2 of 2

verb

past tense of case-harden

as in tempered

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for case-hardened

Adjective

Natural selection is usually ruthless about weeding out traits with no function.

— Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
Supergirl builds to a final showdown with Krem of the Yellow Hills, the ruthless Brigands leader who murdered Ruthye’s family and poisoned Krypto early in the film.

— Lily Brown, PEOPLE, 26 June 2026

Definition of ruthless

Verb

The previous night’s service, in which the entire kitchen pulls together under Sydney’s leadership, crystallized his need to move on.

— Jake Kring-Schreifels, Time, 26 June 2026
While rumblings of discontent had long swirled around Starmer’s leadership within Labour following a string of missteps, unpopular policy decisions and costly U-turns, the local elections in early May crystallized the rebellion.

— Joe Mayes, Fortune, 22 June 2026

Definition of crystallized

Adjective

The poem that precedes it, the Iliad, is a cruel and beautiful work, the ultimate story of war; the Odyssey has its warlike passages, but its central energies seem almost commonplace beside the merciless fury of Achilles.

— David Denby, New Yorker, 21 June 2026
Humility is the posture; the standard is merciless.

— Luis E. Romero, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026

Definition of merciless

Verb

The first film follows a group of French high-school students who travel to Naples on a school trip to discover the ruins of Pompeii and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius.

— Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 20 May 2026
Johansson plays her with a tough edge to match her Queens accent, but Hester is clearly petrified by this perfect storm of ugly events.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 May 2026

Definition of petrified

Adjective

Oscar Wilde, for example, reposes beneath a hulking deity whose iconoclastic castration, back in 1961, did little to restrain pilgrims seeking to smear red lips across his stony physique.

— Emily Cox, ARTnews.com, 22 May 2026
Instead of looking like a sleek urban loft, the room can quickly start to feel cold, stony, and impersonal.

— Natasha Bazika, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026

Definition of stony

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case-harden

case-hardened

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“Case-hardened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/case-hardened. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of case-hardened

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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