as in stubborn
sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion
the team's hard-nosed coach doesn't make exceptions for anybody
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Examples Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hard-nosed
Miller provides the hard-nosed play that is designed for playoff success but offers the premiere offensive production to replace — and improve — current underperforming top-six Rangers forwards.
—
Dan Perry, Newsweek, 5 Jan. 2025
Harvick, one of NASCAR’s greatest, built an empire of dominance with this number, including a Cup Series championship, 60 career wins, and an endless highlight reel of hard-nosed racing.
—Greg Engle, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
Denis Leary stars as a hard-nosed military man saddled with a ragtag bunch of lazy soldiers in Fox‘s Going Dutch — but did the new comedy earn a salute from you?
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 2 Jan. 2025
The hard-nosed winger was too kind to his old team on Tuesday.
—Joe Smith, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hard-nosed 
Dan Perry, Newsweek, 5 Jan. 2025
Harvick, one of NASCAR’s greatest, built an empire of dominance with this number, including a Cup Series championship, 60 career wins, and an endless highlight reel of hard-nosed racing.
—Greg Engle, Forbes, 3 Jan. 2025
Denis Leary stars as a hard-nosed military man saddled with a ragtag bunch of lazy soldiers in Fox‘s Going Dutch — but did the new comedy earn a salute from you?
—Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 2 Jan. 2025
The hard-nosed winger was too kind to his old team on Tuesday.
—Joe Smith, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for hard-nosed
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-nosed
Adjective
-
The stubborn machine has won, and politicians are, for the most part, just fodder, which means that every politician who has to stand in front of a camera after a tragedy turns into another battle site in an endless culture war.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
The New Yorker,
16 Jan. 2025
-
Coaches will tell you of a character who could be grumpy or stubborn, but also of someone who needed faith shown in him.—
The Athletic UK Staff,
The Athletic,
10 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
In an interview days before Trump’s inauguration, Rosenworcel is adamant that regulation is part of the answer to America’s telecom security crisis.—
Eric Geller,
WIRED,
17 Jan. 2025
-
David Poole is adamant that the sales team is always upfront about the risks as well as upsides of investing.—
K.J. Yossman,
Variety,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
-
As those factors emerged, NBA front-office sources remained steadfast that Flagg was the No. 1 pick.—
Sam Vecenie,
The Athletic,
20 Jan. 2025
-
In contrast, Pence, speaking at an educational forum in Taipei, expressed his belief that the United States should remain steadfast in its commitments.—
Yaakov Katz,
Newsweek,
17 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near hard-nosed
Cite this Entry
“Hard-nosed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-nosed. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share