Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Hardheaded.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • In hunting, having little or no sense of smell: said of dogs.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective facing reality squarely; guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory; tough and pragmatic.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective guided by practical experience and observation rather than by theory
  • adjective idiomatic hardheaded

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective guided by practical experience and observation rather than theory

Etymologies

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Examples

  • The suggestion of a secret life led by the high-profile former sheriff has roiled the suburban Denver county where Sullivan was known as a hard-nosed lawman who served on a national law enforcement task force in the 1990s.

    Reuters: Press Release 2011

  • The suggestion of a secret life led by the high-profile former sheriff has roiled the suburban Denver county where Sullivan was known as a hard-nosed lawman who served on a national law enforcement task force in the 1990s.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • He was known as a hard-nosed officer who was solidly respected by his troops, and he’d handled tough assignments before.

    Brotherhood of Heroes Bill Sloan 2005

  • He was known as a hard-nosed officer who was solidly respected by his troops, and he’d handled tough assignments before.

    Brotherhood of Heroes Bill Sloan 2005

  • The authors are crusaders for hard-nosed research and evaluation in particular, randomized controlled trials, the social science gold standard of anti-poverty programs to inform an idealized donor, foundation program officer or social investor of the future, namely, the perfectly rational decision-maker.

    Jonathan Lewis: Social Impact Evaluation: Useful? Utopian? (Part 1 of 4) Jonathan Lewis 2011

  • The authors are crusaders for hard-nosed research and evaluation in particular, randomized controlled trials, the social science gold standard of anti-poverty programs to inform an idealized donor, foundation program officer or social investor of the future, namely, the perfectly rational decision-maker.

    Jonathan Lewis: Social Impact Evaluation: Useful? Utopian? (Part 1 of 4) Jonathan Lewis 2011

  • The authors are crusaders for hard-nosed research and evaluation in particular, randomized controlled trials, the social science gold standard of anti-poverty programs to inform an idealized donor, foundation program officer or social investor of the future, namely, the perfectly rational decision-maker.

    Jonathan Lewis: Social Impact Evaluation: Useful? Utopian? (Part 1 of 4) Jonathan Lewis 2011

  • The softhearted utopian became the hard-nosed defender of the faith.

    Bloodlust Russell Jacoby 2011

  • The authors are crusaders for hard-nosed research and evaluation in particular, randomized controlled trials, the social science gold standard of anti-poverty programs to inform an idealized donor, foundation program officer or social investor of the future, namely, the perfectly rational decision-maker.

    Jonathan Lewis: Social Impact Evaluation: Useful? Utopian? (Part 1 of 4) Jonathan Lewis 2011

  • The softhearted utopian became the hard-nosed defender of the faith.

    Bloodlust Russell Jacoby 2011

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