hard-nosed

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.

Known as an hard-nosed and aggressive operator, Williamson worked for former governors Jerry Brown and Gray Davis and mentored other women in politics.

From Los Angeles Times • May 14, 2026

Military training prepared him for the hard-nosed politics of running for city council in Jersey City, he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Good things have happened when people decided not to give up entirely and held on to that kind of hard-nosed faith.

From Slate • Mar. 4, 2026

Then in 1990 he got attention for his turn as the hard-nosed secret agent handling Anne Parillaud's female assassin Nikita, in Besson's hit film of the same name.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

Will Bates was Gary Edwards’s teacher in algebra II, which seemed amazing given the fact that Edwards was a Carter Cowboy and Bates was a hard-nosed grader who made no bones about flunking kids.

From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger