1
as in ruthless
having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings
a hard-boiled Puritan schoolmaster who was as unyielding as New England granite
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in smart
having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment
made the hard-boiled business decision to downsize the company, thereby costing thousands of longtime employees their jobs
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of hard-boiled
In a smaller pot of water over high heat, boil eggs, covered, until just hard-boiled, 7 minutes, then run under cold water.
—
Aleksandra Crapanzano, WSJ, 8 Mar. 2023
For lunch or dinner, top a salad with scrambled or hard-boiled eggs.
—Amanda MacMillan, Health, 1 Mar. 2023
This is outback noir — oblique, secretive and as hard-boiled as the ground is hard-baked — and Sen wears it well.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 Feb. 2023
As Detective Munch, Mr. Belzer was brainy but hard-boiled, cynical but sensitive.
—Alex Traub, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2023
Aleksandra Crapanzano, WSJ, 8 Mar. 2023
For lunch or dinner, top a salad with scrambled or hard-boiled eggs.
—Amanda MacMillan, Health, 1 Mar. 2023
This is outback noir — oblique, secretive and as hard-boiled as the ground is hard-baked — and Sen wears it well.
—Guy Lodge, Variety, 23 Feb. 2023
As Detective Munch, Mr. Belzer was brainy but hard-boiled, cynical but sensitive.
—Alex Traub, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hard-boiled
Adjective
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As with everything Banksy, siting and context are chief among the avenues of investigation into the man’s intent and into his his hilariously ruthless nocturnal execution of his art.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
30 May 2025
-
The ruthless, physical Panthers will get a strong Oilers squad, with Ekholm back on the back end, Skinner emphatically taking back his net from Calvin Pickard, and both McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on top of their games.—
Daniel Nugent-Bowman,
New York Times,
30 May 2025
Adjective
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With the longer battery life, lighter design and smart safety features, this jetpack is definitely for anyone looking to make their underwater adventures more exciting.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
9 June 2025
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Moreover, waving the flag of a foreign country isn’t prideful, or politically smart in the least.—
Mark Z. Barabak,
Los Angeles Times,
9 June 2025
Adjective
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The film is cold-bloodedly whimsical, asking the audience to root for a merciless man who endeavors, ever so incrementally, to understand some deeper human truths.—
David Sims,
The Atlantic,
6 June 2025
-
Unless stopped, Trump and the Republicans who follow him may go down as the most merciless and morally bankrupt leaders this country has ever produced.—
Tom Debley,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
Adjective
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Flash mobs in the Loop are a real problem demanding hardheaded solutions.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
13 Mar. 2025
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British officials know this and sometimes despair that their country has not found a way to be more hardheaded.—
Sam Knight,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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The people that farm or garden are very interesting, very resourceful, very astute.—
Greg Allen,
NPR,
1 June 2025
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Patti LuPone, fresh off the set of And Just Like That…, has caused an internet kerfuffle with her astute (and deliciously eloquent) jabs at costars, former lovers, theatergoers, and even Times Square pedestrians in her recent profile in The New Yorker.—
Raven Smith,
Vogue,
28 May 2025
Adjective
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As a result of a global economic slowdown, communication agencies are getting savvy in how to marshal their resources.—
Hikmat Mohammed,
Footwear News,
9 June 2025
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This 16-inch gaming laptop is marked down right now, with additional savings for savvy shoppers who use code LEVELUP20.—
Jade Chung-Lee,
PC Magazine,
3 June 2025
Adjective
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To the world, Seema is a shrewd real estate broker.—
Lisa Stardust,
People.com,
28 May 2025
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Wonderfully surreal, completely original, and frequently hilarious, La Máquina — which also stars Eiza González (3 Body Problem) as Eduardo’s shrewd ex-wife, Irasema — packs a powerful punch.—
EW Staff,
EW.com,
22 May 2025
Adjective
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Still, some of the sharpest pullbacks in job postings were also in leisure and hospitality, with declines at restaurants, hotels, as well as other service-providing businesses.—
Alicia Wallace,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
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There has been a sharp rise in the demand for high-bandwidth memory, which is utilized alongside GPUs for AI applications, leading to a nearly 50% sequential increase in HBM memory revenue over the last quarter as production scales up.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
3 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hard-boiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-boiled. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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