Synonyms of hard-nosed

hard-nosed

adjective

ˈhärd-ˈnōzd 

as in stubborn

sticking to an opinion, purpose, or course of action in spite of reason, arguments, or persuasion

the team's hard-nosed coach doesn't make exceptions for anybody

Synonyms & Similar Words

• stubborn
• adamant
• steadfast
• hardened
• uncompromising
• hardheaded
• intransigent
• opinionated
• implacable
• headstrong
• obsessive
• bullheaded
• obstinate
• unbending
• unrelenting
• unyielding
• hard
• dogged
• obdurate
• willful
• inflexible
• mulish
• pertinacious
• immovable
• pigheaded
• strict
• pat
• adamantine
• persistent
• perverse
• relentless
• determined
• ossified
• tenacious
• stiff-necked
• self-willed
• self-opinionated
• inconvincible
• unflinching
• hard-line
• stern
• deaf to reason
• rigid
• iron
• wayward
• cantankerous
• defiant
• wrongheaded
• inexorable
• single-minded
• severe
• resolved
• hidebound
• firm
• hard-shell
• narrow-minded
• indomitable
• uncooperative
• recalcitrant
• anal-retentive
• bloody-minded
• stouthearted
• intractable
• hell-bent
• insubordinate
• contrary
• contumacious
• mutinous
• disobedient
• unruly
• invincible
• inveterate
• refractory
• unmanageable
• insurgent
• exacting
• demanding
• unconquerable
• cussed
• set
• confirmed
• ungovernable
• unregenerate
• froward

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• flexible
• amenable
• agreeable
• compliant
• pliant
• acquiescent
• pliable
• obedient
• docile
• complying
• submissive
• tractable
• yielding
• willing
• receptive
• responsive
• reasonable
• accepting
• placable
• relenting
• manageable
• temperate
• subservient
• slavish
• persuadable
• governable

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of hard-nosed

That moral point also happens to be hard-nosed business logic. — Raj Ananthanpillai, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026

The war in Iran has brought the goals of climate activists and hard-nosed security officials closer together. — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 23 June 2026

Even after many of its top officials were killed in the war, Iran has maintained a hard-nosed corps of diplomats who have long been involved in foreign policy. — David A. Graham, The Atlantic, 26 May 2026

The latest spinoff in the long-running franchise brought Christopher Meloni's hard-nosed detective back into the fold. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 21 May 2026