hard-boiled

adjective

Definition of hard-boilednext
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

Relevance

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Thesaurus Entries Near hard-boiled

hard-bitten

hard-boiled

hardcase

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Hard-boiled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hard-boiled. Accessed 5 Feb. 2023.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on hard-boiled

Nglish: Translation of hard-boiled for Spanish Speakers

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

Listen to the pronunciation of weal

See Definitions and Examples »

Test Your Vocabulary

Commonly Confused Words Quiz

  • vector image of a face with thought expression
  • I went to the ______ store to buy a birthday card.
Name That Thing

You know what it looks like… but what is it called?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can with using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.

Can you make 12 words with 7 letters?

PLAY
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Word Games