Hard-boiled — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Hard-boiled (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. having or showing a lack of sympathy or tender feelings

   "a hard-boiled Puritan schoolmaster who was as unyielding as New England granite"

   similar: affectless, callous, case-hardened, cold-blooded, compassionless, desensitized, hard, hard-hearted, heartless, indurate, inhuman, inhumane, insensate, insensitive, ironhearted, merciless, obdurate, pachydermatous, pitiless, remorseless, ruthless, slash-and-burn, soulless, stony, stonyhearted, take-no-prisoners, thick-skinned, uncharitable, unfeeling, unmerciful, unsparing, unsympathetic
   related: boorish, heedless, inconsiderate, thoughtless, uncaring, unfriendly, unloving, unthinking, grim, hard-bitten, harsh, heavy-handed, ironfisted, ironhanded, jackbooted, knock-down, drag-out, oppressive, rough, rough-and-tumble, severe, sledgehammer, stern, tough, ungentle, abusive, acrimonious, disagreeable, hateful, ill-natured, ill-tempered, malevolent, malicious, mean, rancorous, spiteful, surly, virulent, barbarous, bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, evil-minded, savage, vicious, austere, cold, frosty
   opposite: charitable, compassionate, humane, kindhearted, kindly, merciful, sensitive, softhearted, sympathetic, tender, tenderhearted, warm, warmhearted
   near: benevolent, benignant, gentle, kind, clement, indulgent, lenient, mild, cordial, friendly, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, tolerant, understanding, affectionate, fond, loving

2. having or showing a practical cleverness or judgment

   "made the hard-boiled business decision to downsize the company, thereby costing thousands of longtime employees their jobs"

   similar: astute, canny, clear-eyed, clear-sighted, hardheaded, heady, knowing, savvy, sharp, sharp-witted, shrewd, smart
   related: artful, cagey, crafty, cunning, devious, dodgy (chiefly British), foxy, guileful, pawky (chiefly British), slick, sly, subtle, tricky, wily, discerning, insightful, perceptive, percipient, perspicacious, sagacious, sage, sapient, wise, experienced, veteran, discriminating, discriminative, agile, alert, brainy, bright, brilliant, clever, intelligent, keen, nimble, quick, quick-witted, sharp-eyed, sharp-sighted, apt, ingenious, resourceful, calculating, scheming
   opposite: unknowing
   near: artless, guileless, ingenuous, innocent, naive, exploitable, gullible, unperceptive, unwise, dense, dull, obtuse, airheaded, birdbrained, brain-dead, brainless, dim-witted, dopey, dumb, empty-headed, feebleminded, gormless (chiefly British), half-witted, knuckleheaded, lamebrain, lunkheaded, simple, slow, slow-witted, softheaded, stupid, thickheaded, thick-witted, unintelligent, weak-minded, foolish, idiotic, imbecile, moronic, silly, thoughtless, witless, ignorant, uninformed