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Synonyms

get tough with

Idioms  

  1. Become harsh, severe, unyielding with someone. For example, We have to get tough with these people or we'll get nowhere. [c. 1930]

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Chen, a former deputy L.A. mayor, has been demanding that insurance companies deliver what their clients paid for, and imploring state insurance commissioner Ricardo Lara to get tough with them.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2025

His strategy has therefore been to get tough with Pyongyang.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2024

The campaign is part of a larger strategy to get tough with Starbucks as contract negotiations have stalled.

From Washington Times • Jul. 12, 2023

Then things get tough with a visit to No. 5 Notre Dame.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 18, 2022

For instance in 2011, she appeared with Marvin Kalb at the National Press club and suggested that the US needed to get tough with Pakistan:

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2021

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.