hardball
noun
hard·ball
ˈhärd-ˌbȯl 
1
: baseball
2
: forceful uncompromising methods employed to gain an end
played political hardball
Examples of hardball in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Real and enduring damage can come if political hardball tactics bring about a shutdown that lasts for months.
—
Richard Vague, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023
Best Buy is playing hardball with Amazon's October Prime Day 2023 tech sale.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2023
Meta played hardball, not only banning news links from being shared across Facebook but also stopping users from posting links to non-news sites such as official government health pages—during the pandemic.
—Nicole Kobie, WIRED, 11 Sep. 2023
Kohlrabi, for example, taste best when baseball size, as in hardball, not softball.
—Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 6 July 2023
Mario, for instance, was excluded from the collection by Nintendo’s contractual hardball, and another was omitted because nobody could determine who owned its copyright.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 30 June 2023
Many suggested that head coach Xavi Hernandez should make Dembele watch the rest of the season from the stands as punishment for the 25-year-old and his representative Moussa Sissoko playing hardball in negotiations.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 1 Apr. 2023
This new crop of diplomats is playing hardball, Cheng says, pushing controversial CCP narratives and countering foreign criticism.
—Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner, 7 July 2020
The lesson for his enemies is perhaps not to mistake Mr. Starmer’s courteous and mild-mannered bearing — or absence of fanfare — for a lack of willingness to play political hardball.
—Stephen Castle, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2023
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Richard Vague, Fortune, 27 Sep. 2023
Best Buy is playing hardball with Amazon's October Prime Day 2023 tech sale.
—Kate Gibson, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2023
Meta played hardball, not only banning news links from being shared across Facebook but also stopping users from posting links to non-news sites such as official government health pages—during the pandemic.
—Nicole Kobie, WIRED, 11 Sep. 2023
Kohlrabi, for example, taste best when baseball size, as in hardball, not softball.
—Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 6 July 2023
Mario, for instance, was excluded from the collection by Nintendo’s contractual hardball, and another was omitted because nobody could determine who owned its copyright.
—Julian Lucas, The New Yorker, 30 June 2023
Many suggested that head coach Xavi Hernandez should make Dembele watch the rest of the season from the stands as punishment for the 25-year-old and his representative Moussa Sissoko playing hardball in negotiations.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 1 Apr. 2023
This new crop of diplomats is playing hardball, Cheng says, pushing controversial CCP narratives and countering foreign criticism.
—Jamie McIntyre, Washington Examiner, 7 July 2020
The lesson for his enemies is perhaps not to mistake Mr. Starmer’s courteous and mild-mannered bearing — or absence of fanfare — for a lack of willingness to play political hardball.
—Stephen Castle, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hardball.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1857, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near hardball
Cite this Entry
“Hardball.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardball. Accessed 6 Dec. 2023.
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