hard-bitten

American  

[hahrd-bit-n] / ˈhɑrdˈbɪt n /

adjective

1. tough; stubborn.

2. conditioned by battle or struggle.

   a hard-bitten army.

3. grim or severe in judgment or attitude.

   a hard-bitten old teacher.

4. hard-boiled.

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hard-bitten British  

adjective

1. tough and realistic

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Etymology

Origin of hard-bitten

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

She plays hard-bitten Los Angeles divorce lawyer Fiona Sharpe, who heads to Ireland to resolve a mystery involving the father who abandoned her as a child.

From Los Angeles Times

The British screen and stage star won an Emmy in 1975 for her portrayal of hard-bitten but ultimately kind-hearted maid Rose Buck in the TV drama about class in Edwardian England.

From BBC

Old sceptics, hard-bitten by a quarter of a century of nothingness, were beginning to turn.

From BBC

He is hard-bitten by reality in these games, after all.

From BBC

A lieutenant had approached, an older man, hard-bitten by years in the desert, with a full beard—save for a large, horizontal scar across his left cheek.

From Literature