battle-hardened

English

Adjective

battle-hardened (comparative more battle-hardened, superlative most battle-hardened)

1. (literally and figurative) Unfeeling or lacking emotion due to experience in battle; callous.
   • 2022 December 28, Andy Lord tells Paul Clifton, “We are much stronger if we work together”, in RAIL, number 973, page 46:

     Andy Lord has been at TfL for three years. He joined as managing director of London Underground in 2019, and subsequently became chief operating officer. But he was already battle-hardened by seven years as operations director for British Airways - the longest tenure of anyone in that similarly demanding role.

   • 2023 April 3, Andrew E. Kramer, Mauricio Lima, “New Weapons Aren’t Enough: The Challenges of Ukraine’s Coming Assault”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     After more than a year of war, Ukraine is battle hardened.