hard sell

noun

: aggressive high-pressure salesmanship compare soft sell

Examples of hard sell in a Sentence

Such an expensive project will be a hard sell during these slow economic times.

Recent Examples on the Web

And starting over may really be a hard sell for some after 13 years, even if GTA 6 is the hot new thing. — Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 29 Aug. 2026

For air taxis to take off, the public needs to get on board—and soaring into the sky in experimental tech will be a hard sell for many. — Alexei Oreskovic, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026

Compared with protein, which lends itself to narratives of growth—more grams, more gains—fibre is a bit of a hard sell, likelier to be espoused by women in sensible shoes than by fitness junkies on Twitch. — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 29 June 2026

And for many anthropologists, earlier hominins with those capabilities—once considered uniquely human—are a hard sell. — ArsTechnica, 25 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1945, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hard sell

• barbell
• bedwell
• befell
• bluebell
• bombshell
• bridewell
• capelle
• cartel
• carvel
• clamshell
• cogswell
• compel