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

The cabbie, a hard-bitten postcommunist cynic, asks her if she’s visiting the archives “for work or fun.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

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

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2025

Dip into the dad-canon iconography of Bill Pronzini’s Nameless Detective series, of which more than 40 hard-bitten installments have been released since the early 1970s?

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2024

Taylor’s Inez, possessed of a hard-bitten skill for self-preservation, stays one step ahead, constantly moving forward, a soft shred of hope her only cold comfort.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2023

Later there came a request from the young couple, a request written and subscribed to by a hard-bitten bachelor, Ross Milton.

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt