HARD-BOILED Synonyms: 221 Similar and Opposite Words

hard-boiled

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈbȯi(-ə)ld

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

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

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of hard-boiled It can be poached, scrambled, scotched, roasted, hard-boiled, devilled, pickled, and soft-boiled, all by itself. —

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026 Boiled Placing eggs in boiling water with the shells on is another healthy cooking method that can be used until the yolk is runny (soft-boiled) or fully cooked (hard-boiled). —

Cristina Mutchler, Verywell Health, 29 Jan. 2026 The lenses of deep-sea fish are also especially susceptible to clouding, in the same way that egg whites go from clear to opaque when hard-boiled. —

Literary Hub, 25 Sep. 2025 For lunch or dinner, top a salad with scrambled or hard-boiled eggs. —

Amanda MacMillan, Health, 9 Sep. 2025 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 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

Social media users on Twitter, now known as X, were absolutely ruthless with Beltrán at the time.

— Samantha Agate, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Apr. 2026
Director Nick Castle’s 1984 sci-fi adventure of a trailer park kid recruited to join an interstellar war against Xur and the ruthless Ko-Dan Armada is still a fantastic flick over 40 years after its original theatrical release.

— Jeff Spry, Space.com, 20 Apr. 2026