as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a case-hardened homicide detective who has seen it all
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for case-hardened
Adjective
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Reduce Wasted Spend to Fund Your Next Project Founders are ruthless about cutting overhead, yet many creatives let thousands of dollars leak away on essential work expenses like software subscriptions, tech and supplies.—
Rhett Power,
Rolling Stone,
6 May 2026 -
Stéphane de Groodt also appears, while Jochen Hägele plays the ruthless Nazi officer Dieter Frank.—
Elsa Keslassy,
Variety,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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Development in the Dotte 🪠 Fish or human feces often wash up in KCK homes during those merciless spring rains.—
Sofi Zeman,
Kansas City Star,
30 Apr. 2026
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Fleeing into the desert with her father, she is hunted by a merciless army and forced to trust a legendary bandit (Mackie) with secrets of his own.—
Mark Meszoros,
Twin Cities,
25 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In a vast stony tract of desert a three-hour drive south of Cairo, tucked between jagged black mountains and the glittering Gulf of Suez, a group of Chinese engineers is quietly rewiring Egypt’s energy strategy.—
Tim McDonnell,
semafor.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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Hikers can traverse the stony beds of Cliffy Creek and snap photos of the park's four iconic waterfalls.—
Joie Probst,
Midwest Living,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
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With Todaro’s enthusiasm and input the idea crystalized.—
Jocheved Cohen,
Miami Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
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For Yakusho, the experience crystallized something fundamental about the craft.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In group chats and meetings, Republicans are privately petrified the Iran war could cost them the midterms.—
Elizabeth Robinson,
NBC news,
16 Apr. 2026
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The only issue is his mother Laura (Wright), a woman who has lost a child once before and is petrified of a repeat.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Case-hardened.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/case-hardened. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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