hardheaded

adjective

hard·​head·​ed ˈhärd-ˈhe-dəd How to pronounce hardheaded (audio)
1
2
: concerned with or involving practical considerations : sober, realistic
some hardheaded advice
a hardheaded observer of winds and tides
hardheadedly adverb
hardheadedness noun

Examples of hardheaded in a Sentence

He was always hardheaded about getting his way. We need to take a more hardheaded approach to these problems. She gave him some hardheaded advice.
Recent Examples on the Web Over his lifetime, Aron was a hardheaded defender of liberal values in the face of fascist and totalitarian ideological challengers. Raymond Aron, Foreign Affairs, 20 Feb. 2024 Meryl is a hardheaded Candide, a sharp-eyed Don Quixote. Jesse Green, New York Times, 15 Nov. 2023 For the sake of both regional stability and long-term U.S. security, Washington needs to sustain a hardheaded, clear-eyed empathy for the interests of the Russians as well as of the Ukrainians and other nationalities. Frank Costigliola, Foreign Affairs, 27 Jan. 2023 But behind the display of friendship was a backdrop of hardheaded geopolitics. Anton Troianovski, New York Times, 20 Mar. 2023 Politicians like John Adams and Theodore Roosevelt, and hardheaded businessmen like John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan, supported Zionist aspirations as well. Walter Russell Mead, WSJ, 5 Sep. 2022 What does matter is to stop being so hardheaded and close-minded. San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2022 Haidt believes that conditions are too dire to take the hardheaded, no-reasonable-doubt view. The New Yorker, 3 June 2022 Whether overconfidence or hardheaded realism are responsible for the tepid countercyclical response, the likely result is the same: an extended period of subpar Chinese growth, beginning with a steep downturn this quarter. Nathaniel Taplin, WSJ, 17 May 2022

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

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1532, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hardheaded was circa 1532

Dictionary Entries Near hardheaded

Cite this Entry

“Hardheaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hardheaded. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hardheaded

adjective
hard·​head·​ed ˈhärd-ˈhed-əd How to pronounce hardheaded (audio)
1
2
: marked by sound judgment
a hardheaded judgment
hardheadedly adverb
hardheadedness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on hardheaded

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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