hard-bitten

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The cabbie, a hard-bitten postcommunist cynic, asks her if she’s visiting the archives “for work or fun.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

The British screen and stage star won an Emmy in 1975 for her portrayal of hard-bitten but ultimately kind-hearted maid Rose Buck in the TV drama about class in Edwardian England.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2025

Taylor’s Inez, possessed of a hard-bitten skill for self-preservation, stays one step ahead, constantly moving forward, a soft shred of hope her only cold comfort.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2023

Philip Marlowe, wearily played by Liam Neeson, is the hard-bitten private detective invented by Raymond Chandler in a series of stories and novels mostly published in the 1930s and ’40s.

From New York Times • Feb. 14, 2023

Later there came a request from the young couple, a request written and subscribed to by a hard-bitten bachelor, Ross Milton.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt