How to Use hard-nosed in a Sentence

hard-nosed

adjective
  • His talent for the work, and hard-nosed tactics, showed early.
    Katie Johnston, BostonGlobe.com, 27 July 2023
  • For sheer, hard-nosed craftiness, Myron was right up there with Gomer Pyle.
    William Jeanes, Car and Driver, 9 Apr. 2023
  • The Hawks, a team that embraces hard-nosed play, will need to match the Cardinals’ ability to dictate the pace.
    Cam Kerry, BostonGlobe.com, 17 Mar. 2023
  • And that's just playing hard-nosed, blue-collar, grind-it-out baseball.
    Richard Obert, The Arizona Republic, 16 May 2023
  • Originally a walk-on linebacker, Hatch is known more for his hard-nosed style of play.
    Jenna Ortiz, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2023
  • Schwartz has a hard-nosed and old-school reputation, but with a twist of attitude.
    Ashley Bastock, cleveland, 12 Sep. 2023
  • The tenacious point guard is venerated by Celtics fans for his hard-nosed play and hustle.
    Christopher L. Gasper, BostonGlobe.com, 6 June 2023
  • Hard worker gives you his all every shift and his hard-nosed playing style will translate well at the next level.
    Kyle Woodlief, USA TODAY, 28 June 2023
  • When the Mavs rolled out of bed and looked in the mirror this morning, many of them probably saw someone who doesn’t play enough hard-nosed defense.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 Jan. 2024
  • He was raised by his mother and grandmother — a hard-nosed prune farmer whom McGuire credits for his career.
    Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2024
  • Along the way, the hard-nosed and principled leader was also a minor league manager, scout and bullpen coach.
    Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 28 Mar. 2024
  • Along the way, the hard-nosed and principled leader was also a minor league manager, scout and bullpen coach.
    Paul McCardell, Baltimore Sun, 31 Jan. 2024
  • Phillips, the hard-nosed, third-round slot corner from Kentucky, was in the middle of several fights and skirmishes.
    Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 5 Aug. 2024
  • The Ginza store seemed to have spun out of Xu’s own romantic yearnings rather than hard-nosed business logic.
    Chang Che, The New Yorker, 30 July 2024
  • The hard-nosed slot receiver also finished with the the ninth-best pass blocking grade among Power Five wideouts.
    Nick Moyle, San Antonio Express-News, 7 Apr. 2023
  • Jim Hiller is sticking to the hard-nosed, defense-first philosophy that got the Kings to the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs — and no further — in each of the last three seasons.
    Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 24 May 2024
  • Stover is essential to this team’s identity as a leader and hard-nosed on-field presence.
    Nathan Baird, cleveland, 24 Aug. 2023
  • The website may have high-minded ideals, but their termination agreements are full of hard-nosed legalese.
    Kelsey Piper, Vox, 18 May 2024
  • But Israelis should ask themselves how well the hard-nosed, forever-war approach has worked in practice.
    David Ignatius, Washington Post, 31 July 2024
  • Fickell has the same hard-nosed approach on defense that should continue the success Wisconsin has enjoyed on that side of the ball.
    Paul Myerberg, USA TODAY, 7 Aug. 2023
  • First, his hard-nosed wife, Angela (a committed Laurie Metcalf), is a cancer survivor whose anger and fear Leo can’t seem to pierce.
    Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2023
  • Lyonne, nominated for lead actress in the role, plays the hard-nosed sleuth Cale, who has an innate talent for sniffing out lies.
    Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2023
  • From then on, Miller was Vogue’s woman on the ground, sending back not only photographs but eloquent, hard-nosed dispatches from the front lines.
    Chris Wiley, The New Yorker, 10 Jan. 2024
  • The words of nutty and hard-nosed former college football coach Bo Pelini come to mind when trying figure out the direction of the UC program.
    Jason Williams, The Enquirer, 13 Mar. 2023
  • Never utilized as a true No. 1 back in his five-year career, the 5-7 Singletary is a hard-nosed, reliable player.
    Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 25 May 2024
  • Originally from San Bernardino, he’s carved out a role of being a hard-nosed defender.
    Matthew Ho, Orange County Register, 17 July 2024
  • Carter has a high basketball IQ, is a hard-nosed defender and an excellent rebounder for a guard.
    Jason Anderson, Sacramento Bee, 8 June 2024
  • Jeremy Piven, trying to get as far away as possible from Ari Gold, invests Lapchick with a menschy warmth that rings true for a hard-nosed coach trying to steer the game forward.
    Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 13 Apr. 2023
  • The score line reflected the impact Williams makes as a veteran — balancing hard-nosed defense with efficient offense to feed the Sky in every spot on the court.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 1 July 2023
  • Grier was looking for players with Goodrow’s qualities as a hard-nosed leader who can take defensive zone draws and kill penalties.
    Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 24 June 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hard-nosed.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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