HARD-HEADED Synonyms: 280 Similar and Opposite Words

hardheaded

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈhe-dəd

as in smart

having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment a hardheaded politician who never hesitated to set aside principle in favor of expediency

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in stubborn

sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion Granny remained hardheaded about keeping her house and not moving into a nursing home

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in pragmatic

willing to see things as they really are and deal with them sensibly a hardheaded minister who understands the difficulties teenagers face today

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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 hardheaded In the complicated, thorny, offensive, manipulative, sometimes hilarious, sometimes uncomfortable video interview, which evokes the feeling of an uncle sitting down with his hardheaded nephew, Thug is reeling and full of so much anxiety that his legs are shaking. —

Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 11 Sep. 2025 Flash mobs in the Loop are a real problem demanding hardheaded solutions. —

The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 13 Mar. 2025 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 The messy middle refers to the difficult decisions that need to be made, guided by science and hardheaded economics. —

Nick Rockel, Fortune, 4 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for hardheaded

Recent Examples of Synonyms for hardheaded

Adjective

Going beyond the basics of a typical smart scale, the MorphoScan breaks down segmental muscle and fat for each arm, each leg, and your torso, similar to a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan, which is essentially a medical imagery test to gauge these same attributes.

— Andrew Gebhart, PC Magazine, 5 Apr. 2026
Police in Ann Arbor want all fans coming to town to celebrate this weekend to make smart decisions.

— Terell Bailey, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026