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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Those hoping to snatch a home in this busy period faced limited options on the market, as the country’s developers had chronically underbuilt compared to demand in the years following the subprime mortgage crisis, leading to ruthless bidding wars and climbing home values.—
Giulia Carbonaro,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025 -
Hedda orchestrates a ruthless game of manipulation, where lust, jealousy and betrayal collide.—
Patrick Hipes,
Deadline,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Just clean, merciless, fundamental football.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
19 Oct. 2025
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Chat members were merciless in their rhetoric against fellow Young Republicans in competing factions of the organization.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Needless to say, the sanctions, Trump’s criticism of Putin and the cancelation of in-person talks, elicited a stony silence from Moscow on Thursday.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
23 Oct. 2025
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Madewell Crewneck Cutaway Vest A stony tan vest might just be the sleeper hit of the season.—
Rosie Marder,
Travel + Leisure,
18 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Plans for a fourth film, set to be released in 2011, never crystallized.—
Lauren Huff,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Oct. 2025
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That vision crystallized after Van Mecl and his husband purchased a 1920s Moorish-style house on Jann Avenue.—
Carmen F de Terenzio,
Miami Herald,
28 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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 5 Nov. 2025.
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