case-hardened s used of persons; emotionally hardened faced a case-hardened judge Usage(s) Impatience with job-hunting journalism school graduates comes naturally to many a case-hardened newspaper editor. She calls her loverhusband "Preppie" about 900 times too often; she sometimes seems case-hardened enough to scratch a diamond. The company's astonishing success is the result of a combination of safety-minded care and case-hardened lawyering. Synonym(s) hardened hard-boiled