Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

hard–nosed

play
adjective \ˈhärd-ˈnōzd\

Definition of hard–nosed

  1. 1 :  being tough, stubborn, or uncompromising

  2. 2 :  hardheaded 2, tough-minded

See hard–nosed defined for English-language learners

People Are Reading

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"
a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Vocabulary Thrives in Darkness
alt-59973139034d4
Trending: 'Svengali' Bannon leaving White House
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

First Known Use of hard–nosed

1917

hard–nosed Synonyms

Synonyms
adamant, adamantine, bullheaded, dogged, hard, hardened, hardheaded, hard-nosed, headstrong, immovable, implacable, inconvincible, inflexible, intransigent, mulish, obdurate, opinionated, ossified, pat, pertinacious, perverse, pigheaded, self-opinionated, self-willed, stiff-necked, stubborn, unbending, uncompromising, unrelenting, unyielding, willful (or wilful)
Antonyms
acquiescent, agreeable, amenable, compliant, complying, flexible, pliable, pliant, relenting, yielding
Related Words
anal-retentive, obsessive; wayward, wrongheaded; determined, hell-bent, inexorable, persistent, relentless, resolved, set, single-minded, steadfast, stouthearted, tenacious, unflinching; firm, hard-line, hard-shell (or hard-shelled), iron, severe, stern, strict; hidebound, narrow-minded, rigid; bloody-minded [chiefly British], cantankerous; contrary, cussed; contumacious, disobedient, froward, insubordinate, intractable, recalcitrant, refractory, uncooperative, ungovernable, unmanageable, unruly; defiant, insurgent, mutinous; indomitable, invincible, unconquerable; confirmed, inveterate, unregenerate; demanding, exacting
Near Antonyms
docile, obedient, placable, submissive, tractable; accepting, persuadable, receptive, responsive, willing; governable, manageable, reasonable, temperate; slavish, subservient

HARD–NOSED Defined for English Language Learners

hard-nosed

play
adjective

Definition of hard–nosed for English Language Learners

  • : very tough

  • : not influenced by emotions : practical and realistic

Learn More about hard–nosed

  1. See words that rhyme with hard–nosed

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up hard–nosed? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

flagrant

play

conspicuously offensive

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  2. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  3. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  4. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  5. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

SEE ALL

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

alt-599ca1388698f
Drawing a Conclusion About "Sketchy"

How did "sketchy" come to describe creeps?

2-pairs-of-scissors
What's the Singular of 'Scissors'?

A tricky, double-edged word origin.

a-woman-waits-at-the-end-of-a-gloomy-pier-does-she-wait-for-charon-the-ferryman-to-the-underworld-it-is-dark-but-she-carries-a-parasol
Great Words for Twilight and Darkness

Words for the goth in all of us

bunch-of-yellow-balloons-lit-by-the-sun
Helium: This Word Brought to You by a Solar Eclipse

And by the Sun, with some help from Greek.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
SCRABBLE® Sprint
SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game